Frameshift mutation in codon 176 of the p53 gene in rat esophageal epithelial cells transformed by benzo[a]pyrene...

Mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene have been associated with exposure to environmental chemical carcinogens. Cultured rat esophageal epithelial cells were transformed in vitro by treatment with benzo[a]pyrene dihydrodiol (BP-DHD). A BP-DHD-transformed cell line and control cell lines were analyzed for mutations in the p53 gene and in the Ha-ras gene by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of polymerase chain reaction-amplified products and direct DNA sequencing. The deletion of one cytosine in codons 174-176 (TGCCCCCAC-->TGCCCCAC) of the p53 gene was found only in the BP-DHD-transformed cell line. The BP-DHD-transformed cells were highly invasive and tumorigenic when transplanted into syngeneic rats, whereas control lines either were nontumorigenic or formed epithelial cysts. BP-DHD-transformed cells and control lines were negative for mutations in the Ha-ras gene. Our results suggest that the tumorigenic potential of the BP-DHD-transformed cell line is associated with a frameshift mutation in codon 176 of the p53 gene but not with mutations in the Ha-ras gene. The G/C-rich codons 174-176 in the rat p53 gene may be specific targets for BP-DHD.