Mutation, allelotyping, and transcription analyses of the p73 gene in prostatic carcinoma

A novel gene, p73, encoding a protein with significant homology to p53, was recently identified at 1p36. To investigate penetrance of p73 in prostatic carcinogenesis, mutation, allelotyping, and transcription analyses of p73 were performed in prostatic carcinoma. No types of mutation causing amino acid substitutions or frameshifts were found in 106 cases examined. Loss of heterozygosity in the gene was found in 2 of 38 cases (5.3%). Various expression levels of p73 alpha variant were observed in tumor compared with those in normal tissue. These data suggest that the p73 gene is not playing an essential role, but expression of p73 may associate with tumor growth in prostatic carcinogenesis.