MONOALLELICALLY EXPRESSED GENE-RELATED TO P53 AT 1P36, A REGION FREQUENTLY DELETED IN NEUROBLASTOMA AND OTHER HUMAN CANCERS

We describe a gene encoding p73, a protein that shares considerable ho mology with the tumor suppressor p53. p73 maps to 1p36, a region frequ ently deleted in neuroblastoma and other tumors and thought to contain multiple tumor suppressor genes. Our analysis of neuroblastoma cell l ines with Ip and p73 loss of heterozygosity failed to detect coding se quence mutations in remaining p73 alleles. However, the demonstration that p73 is monoallelically expressed supports the notion that it is a candidate gene in neuroblastoma. p73 also has the potential to activa te p53 target genes and to interact with p53. We propose that the disr egulation of p73 contributes to tumorigenesis and that p53-related pro teins operate in a network of developmental and cell cycle controls.