Frequent mutations in the 3'-untranslated region of IFNGR1 lack functional impairment in microsatellite-unstable colorectal tumours.

Microsatellite repeats are frequently found to be mutated in microsatellite-instable colorectal tumours. This suggests that these mutations are important events during tumour development. We have observed frequent mutations in microsatellite-instable (MSI-H) tumours and cell lines of a conserved A14 repeat within the 3'-untranslated region of the interferon-gamma receptor 1 gene (IFNGR1).

HNPCC versus sporadic microsatellite-unstable colon cancers follow different routes toward loss of HLA class I expression.

Background: Abnormalities in Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) class I expression are common in colorectal cancer. Since HLA expression is required to activate tumor antigen-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL), HLA class I abnormalities represent a mechanism by which tumors circumvent immune surveillance. Tumors with high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) are believed to face strong selective pressure to evade CTL activity since they produce large amounts of immunogenic peptides.

High-resolution analysis of HLA class I alterations in colorectal cancer.

Background: Previous studies indicate that alterations in Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) class I expression are frequent in colorectal tumors. This would suggest serious limitations for immunotherapy-based strategies involving T-cell recognition. Distinct patterns of HLA surface expression might conceal different immune escape mechanisms employed by the tumors and are worth further study.

Reliable high-throughput genotyping and loss-of-heterozygosity detection in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumors using single nucleotide polymorphism arrays.

Most human cancers show genetic instabilities leading to allelic imbalances, including loss of heterozygosity (LOH). Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays can be used to detect LOH. Currently, these arrays require intact genomic DNA as obtained from frozen tissue; however, for most cancer cases, only low-quality DNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue is available.

Mass spectrometry-based loss of heterozygosity analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphism loci in paraffin embedded tumors using the MassEXTEND assay: single-nucleotide polymorphism loss of heterozygosity analysis of the protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type J in familial colorectal cancer.

As the number of identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) increases, high-throughput methods are required to characterize the informative loci in large patient series. We investigated the feasibility of MassEXTEND LOH analysis using Sequenom's MassArray RT software, a mass spectrometry method, as an alternative to determine loss of heterozygosity (LOH). For this purpose, we studied the c.