Mp. Horan et al., Hypermethylation of the neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) gene promoter is not a common event in the inactivation of the NF1 gene in NF1-specific tumours, HUM GENET, 107(1), 2000, pp. 33-39
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a common autosomal dominant disorder char
acterised by cafe-au-lait spots, neurofibromas and iris hamartomas. Since t
he NF1 gene product neurofibromin contains a GAP-related domain involved in
the down-regulation of p21(ras) oncogene activity, the NF1 gene has come t
o be regarded as a tumour-suppressor gene. One common mechanism of tumour-s
uppressor gene inactivation during tumorigenesis is promoter hypermethylati
on, this "epi-mutation" being functionally equivalent to a second-hit somat
ic mutation. To assess the importance of promoter hypermethylation in NF1 g
ene inactivation in NF1-related tumours, the methylation status of the NF1
promoter region was determined by bisulphite-modified genomic sequencing in
NF1-specific tumours and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from both NF1
patients and normal controls. Tumour-specific CpG methylation of six distin
ct CpG sites was identified at positions -609, -429, -406, -383, -331 and -
315 relative to the transcriptional start site. However, since all other Cp
G sites were unmethylated in all tissues examined, it is unlikely that CpG
hypermethylation within the NFI promoter represents a common mutational mec
hanism leading to neurofibroma formation.