Pro-apoptotic Cytochrome c Gene Mutation is Rare in Non-small Cell Lung Cancers

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Several lines of evidence have indicated that the deregulation of apoptosis is involved in the mechanisms of cancer development, and somatic mutations of the apoptosis-related genes have been reported in human cancers. In addition to its role in oxidative phosphorylation, release of cytochrome c from the mitochondrial intermembrane space results in nuclear apoptosis. The aim of this study was to explore whether alteration of cytochrome c gene mutation is a characteristic of human non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the current study, to detect the somatic mutations in the DNA sequences encoding cytochrome c in 48 NSCLCs, we used polymerase chain reaction (PCR), single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP), and DNA sequencing. RESULTS: The SSCP analysis revealed no mutation in the entire coding regions and all splice sites of human cytochrome c gene in the 48 NSCLCs. CONCLUSION: The data presented here indicate that the pro-apoptotic cytochrome c may not be somatically mutated in human NSCLCs, and suggest that NSCLCs may not utilize mutational events of cytochrome c gene in the mechanisms for evading apoptosis.