Mutation analysis of hCDC4 in AML cells identifies a new intronic polymorphism

hCDC4 (FBW7, FBXW7) is a new potential tumor suppressor gene which provides substrate specificity for SCF (Skp-Cullin-F-box) ubiquitin ligases and thereby regulates the degradation of potent oncogenes such as cyclin E, Myc, c-Jun and Notch. Mutations in the hCDC4 gene have been found in several solid tumors such as pancreas, colorectal or endometrial cancer. We carried out a mutation analysis of the hCDC4 gene in 35 samples of patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) to elucidate a possible role of hCDC4 mutations in this disease. By direct DNA sequencing and digestion with Surveyor nuclease one heterozygous mutation in the 5' untranslated region of exon 1, transcript variant 3 was detected. Additionally, we could identify a new intronic SNP downstream of exon 10. The new variation was present in 20% of AML samples and was furthermore confirmed in a panel of 51 healthy individuals where it displayed a frequency of 14%. In conclusion we provide first data that in contrast to several solid tumors, mutations in the hCDC4 gene may not play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of AML. Furthermore, we describe a new intronic polymorphism with high frequency in the intron sequence of the hCDC4 gene.