A functional investigation of tumor suppressor gene activities in a nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line HONEI using a monochromosome transfer approach

Monochromosome transfers of selected chromosomes into a nasopharyngeal carc inoma (NPC) cell line were performed to determine if tumor suppressing acti vity for NPC mapped to chromosomes 9, 11, and 17. Current information from cytogenetic and molecular allelotyping studies indicate that these chromoso mes may harbor potential tumor suppressor genes vital to NPC. The present r esults shaw the importance of CDKN2A on chromosome 9 in NPC development. Th ere was no functional suppression of tumor development in nude mice with mi crocell hybrids harboring the newly transferred chromosome 9 containing an interstitial deletion at 9p21, whereas transfection of CDKN2A into the NPC HONEI cells resulted in obvious growth suppression. Whereas intact chromoso me 17 transfers into HONEI cells showed no functional suppression of tumor formation, chromosome 11 was able to do so. Molecular analysis of chromosom e 11 tumor segregants indicated that at least two tumor suppressive regions mapping to 11q13 and 11q22-23 may be critical for the development of NPC. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 28:82-41, 2000. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.