Loss of p73 gene expression in leukemias/lymphomas due to hypermethylation

The p73 gene, a member of the p53 family, is a new candidate tumor suppressor gene. To investigate the possibility of genetic alteration of p73 in leukemia and lymphoma, we examined 55 cell lines and 39 patient samples together with 17 nonhematopoietic cancer cell lines. Gene expression of p73 was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in cell lines (5 of 7 pre B/B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia [ALL], 13 of 21 T-ALL/lymphoblastic lymphomas [LBL], 9 of 10 B-non-Hodgkin's lymphomas [B-NHL], 8 of 9 acute myelogenous leukemias [AML], 2 of 2 T-NHL, 3 of 3 multiple myeloma), and in patient samples (16 of 23 pre B-ALL, 5 of 8 T-ALL/LBL, 5 of 8 B-NHL). PCR-single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) of cDNAs showed no mutation in 43 p73-expressing cell lines within the regions that corresponded to the 5 mutational hotspots of the p53 gene. Neither homologous deletion nor rearrangement of the p73 gene were found by Southern blot analysis in any of the cell lines that lack expression of p73. In contrast to prior published data, analysis of a polymorphic site showed that the p73 gene was expressed biallelically in cell lines and normal peripheral blood. Notably, the p73-negative cell lines were hypermethylated at a CpG island in the 5' untranslated region of the p73 mRNA, and treatment of these cell lines with 5-azacytidine (5-AC), a demethylation reagent, induced p73 expression. Taken together, we found that a sizable proportion (32%) of ALL/B-NHL cell lines and primary tumors had negligible or limited expression of the p73 gene associated with hypermethylation of the gene. These findings suggest that silencing of the p73 gene by hypermethylation may contribute to development and/or progression of lymphoid neoplasms.