Mutation analysis of the Smad3 gene in human ovarian cancers

The Smad3 gene is a member of the Smad family, vertebrate homologues of Dro sophila Mad, and its gene product is a cytoplasmic element in the transform ing growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) signaling pathway. Mutations in TGF-beta receptors and their cytoplasmic elements of transduction signals commonly a ccompany various cancers. Using PCR-SSCP analysis we searched for the prese nce of Smad3 gene mutations in 36 human ovarian cancers, and found that 15 cases (41.7%) had a polymorphism at codon 103. Because this mutation was no t accompanied by amino acid replacement, the present results show that the mutations in the Smad3 gene are unlikely to be involved in human ovarian ca ncers.