POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION SINGLE-STRAND CONFORMATION POLYMORPHISM ANALYSIS FOR THE VHL GENE IN CHEMICALLY-INDUCED KIDNEY TUMORS OF RATS USING INTRON-DERIVED PRIMERS

von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene mutations occur throughout three exons in cluding the exon-intron boundaries in human VHL disease-associated and sporadic renal cell carcinomas. To explore the possible role of the V HL gene in chemically induced rat kidney tumors originating from vario us cell types, more than 150 bp of Fischer 344 and Noble rat VHL intro n sequences flanking the three exons was determined by dideoxy sequenc ing. Five primer sets were selected for polymerase chain reaction ampl ification of the coding regions of rat VHL exons 1-3 and the exon-intr on boundaries. Tissues from 10 renal eosinophilic epithelial tumors in duced by N-nitrosoethyl(2-hydroxyethyl)amine, 10 nephroblastomas induc ed by N-nitroso-N-ethylurea, and seven renal mesenchymal tumors induce d by N-nitrosomethyl(methoxymethyl)amine were examined for VHL mutatio ns by polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphis m analysis. No mutation was detected in any tumor type, indicating tha t VHL mutations are not involved in the pathogenesis of rat kidney tum ors arising from the distal region of the renal tubules, the metanephr ic blastema, or stromal tissues of the cortex. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss. In c.