Lack of <i>B-RAF</i> Mutations in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Al Sheikh Ali, M.; Gunduz, Mehmet; Gunduz, E.; Tamamura, R.; Beder, L.; Tominaga, S.; Onoda, T.; Yamanaka, N.; Grenman, R.; Shimizu, K.; Nagai, N.; Nagatsuka, H.

doi:10.14712/fb2008054050157

Folia Biologica > Archive > 2008, Vol. 54 > Issue 5 > Lack of B-RAF Mutations in Head…

Fol. Biol. 2008, 54, 157-161

https://doi.org/10.14712/fb2008054050157

Lack of B-RAF Mutations in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

M. Al Sheikh Ali¹, Mehmet Gunduz^1,2, E. Gunduz³, R. Tamamura¹, L. Beder², S. Tominaga⁴, T. Onoda⁴, N. Yamanaka², R. Grenman^5,6, K. Shimizu³, N. Nagai¹, H. Nagatsuka¹

¹Department of Oral Pathology and Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
²Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan
³Department of Molecular Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
⁴Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
⁵Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Turku and University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland
⁶Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Turku and University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland

Received July 2008
Accepted September 2008

B-RAF is one of the most commonly mutated oncogenes in human cancer. However, the mutation status of B-RAF has not been established completely in HNSCC. We have analysed the mutation status of the kinase domain of the B-RAF gene (exons 11 and 15) in 91 Japanese HNSCC patients as well as 12 HNSCC cell lines. DNA was extracted and amplified by PCR. Mutations were then analysed by SSCP mutation detection method. Since ^V600EB-RAF constitutes 90 % of the mutations identified in B-RAF in human cancers, we also used MASA analysis to specifically detect this mutation in exon 15 of B-RAF. Using both methods, no mutation was found in both exon 11 and 15 in all patients and cell lines. Mu tations are absent or rare in the kinase domain of B-RAF in Japanese HNSCC. However, more studies are still needed to determine its usefulness as a target for molecular therapy in these patients.

Keywords

B-RAF, mutation, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, single-strand conformation polymorphism.

Funding

This work was partially supported by grants-in-aid for scientific researches from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology [19592109 (to HN), 17406027 (to NN), 20791337 (to RT)], Seed Innovation Research from Japan Science and Technology Agency (to MG), from Sumitomo Trust Haraguchi Memorial Cancer Research Promotion (to MG) and Astrazeneca Research Grant (to MG).