A suite of recent papers convincingly linking cilia to hedgehog signalling, platelet-derived growth factor signalling, Wnt signalling and the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein has rapidly expanded the knowledge base connecting cilia to cancer.
Human genetic studies have now shown that 25-30% of patients have hereditary PH due to a germline mutation in the SDHB, SDHD, VHL, RET or NF1 gene and that the identification of a germline SDHB mutation is associated with a high risk of malignancy and a poor prognosis in PH/PGL patients.3.
To provide a comprehensive, thorough analysis of somatic mutation and promoter hypermethylation of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene in the cancer genome, unique to clear cell renal cancer (ccRCC).
(2006) report that the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) protein is a positive regulator of p53, thus providing insight into the mechanisms by which VHL loss of function leads to cancer.
The frequency of de novo mutations in susceptible genes (especially the VHL gene) in paediatric patients with sporadic phaeochromocytoma and the elevated mortality of these cancer syndromes suggest that screening for mutations should be performed even in cases of non-familial sporadic phaeochromocytoma.
Loss of von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) protein function results in an autosomal-dominant cancer syndrome known as VHL disease, which manifests as angiomas of the retina, hemangioblastomas of the central nervous system, renal clear-cell carcinomas and pheochromocytomas.
Pivotal for the understanding of the progression of malignancy of clear cell renal cell carcinomas are findings connecting its biology to inactivation of the von Hippel-Lindau tumour suppressor gene product (VHLp), found in most CC-RCCs.
Mutations in the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene are involved in the family cancer syndrome for which it is named and the development of sporadic renal cell cancer (RCC).
Mutation of the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor gene (vhl) causes the von Hippel-Lindau cancer syndrome as well as sporadic renal clear cell carcinoma.
These results indicate that VHL gene mutations are related to the carcinogenesis of the clear-cell type of primary renal cell carcinomas, whereas alteration of the APC gene is not involved in the pathogenesis of this cancer.
Identification of the mechanism of inactivation of the VHL gene, as well as the structure and function of the VHL gene product, ultimately may provide clinicians with greater understanding of this malignancy as well as with methods for earlier diagnosis.
We now show that hypermethylation of a normally unmethylated CpG island in the 5' region provides another potentially important mechanism for inactivation of the VHL gene in a significant portion of these cancers.
The identification of VHL mutations in a majority of localized and advanced sporadic renal carcinomas and in a second form of hereditary renal carcinoma indicates that the VHL gene plays a critical part in the origin of this malignancy.
The VHL gene has recently been mapped to 3p, therefore loss of this region in this VHL-related renal cell carcinoma may have cogent significance for tumor development in this interesting cancer-predisposing syndrome.