Rare mutations of the DMBT1 gene in human astrocytic gliomas

The Deleted in Malignant Brain Tumors 1 gene (DMBT1) has been proposed as a tumor suppressor gene candidate in human brain tumors, based on the observation of homozygous deletions affecting the DMBT1 region or part of the gene. In order to support this hypothesis, we performed a mutational analysis of the entire coding region of DMBT1, employing SSCP analysis and direct DNA sequencing in a series of 79 astrocytic gliomas. Five somatic mutations were detected. Two mutations, one of which resulted in an amino acid exchange, occurred in glioblastomas. One pilocytic astrocytoma carried two missense mutations and another pilocytic astrocytoma contained a somatic mutation, not affecting the presumed protein. In addition, 21 of the 27 single nucleotide polymorphisms identified in this study have not been recognized previously. The data indicate, that small mutations are not a frequent finding in gliomas.