The interferon antiviral pathways and prostate cancer genetics converge on a regulated endoribonuclease, RNase L. Positional cloning and linkage studies mapped Hereditary Prostate Cancer 1 (<i>HPC1</i>) to <i>RNASEL</i>.
Many polymorphisms in genes, such as ELAC2 (locus HPC2), RNase L (locus hereditary prostate cancer 1 gene [HPC1]), and MSR1 have been recognized as important genetic factors that confer an increased risk of developing prostate cancer in many populations.
A role in tumor suppression was inferred by mapping of the RNase L gene to the hereditary prostate cancer 1 (HPC1) gene, which in turn led to discovery of the xenotropic murine leukemia-related virus.
The search for viral causes of these syndromes was reignited by the finding that RNase L activity was low in hereditary prostate cancer and some CFS patients.
The RNASEL gene at 1q25 has been identified as a hereditary prostate cancer susceptibility gene, but to date, no study has investigated the role of RNASEL variants in Hispanic Caucasian men with prostate cancer.
RNASEL is thought to be a susceptibility gene for hereditary prostate cancer and encodes the endoribonuclease RNase L, which has a role in apoptosis and is a candidate tumour-suppressor protein.
The hereditary prostate cancer 1 (HPC1) allele maps to the RNASEL gene encoding a protein (RNase L) implicated in the antiviral activity of interferons.
The RNASEL gene, a strong candidate for the hereditary prostate cancer 1 allele (HPC1), encodes a single-stranded specific endoribonuclease involved in the antiviral actions of IFNs.
Genetics studies from several laboratories in the U.S., Finland, and Israel, support the recent identification of the RNase L gene, RNASEL, as a strong candidate for the long sought after hereditary prostate cancer 1 (HPC1) allele.
The RNASEL gene maps to the hereditary-prostate-cancer (HPC)-predisposition locus at 1q24-q25 (HPC1) and was recently shown to harbor truncating mutations in two families with linkage to HPC1.
Here we report that germline mutations in the gene encoding 2'-5'-oligoadenylate(2-5A)-dependent RNase L (RNASEL) segregate in prostate cancer families that show linkage to the HPC1 (hereditary prostate cancer 1) region at 1q24-25 (ref.9).
In prostate adenocarcinoma, besides mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that are known to increase the incidence of high-risk cancer in young patients, new studies have shown mutation in other gene such as HOXB13 and also polymorphisms in MYC, MSMB, KLK2 and KLK3 that can be related to hereditary prostate cancer.
A recurrent mutation in HOXB13 has been shown to predispose to hereditary prostate cancer (HPC), and BRCA2 mutations to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC).
A rare recurrent missense variant in HOXB13 (rs138213197/rs138213197" genes_norm="10481">G84E) was recently reported to be associated with hereditary prostate cancer.
A rare but recurrent missense mutation (rs138213197" genes_norm="10481">G84E, rs138213197) in the gene homeobox B13 (HOXB13) was recently reported to be associated with hereditary prostate cancer.