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DICER1 RNase IIIb domain mutations are infrequent in testicular germ cell tumours.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Testicular Germ Cell Tumours (TGCT) are the most frequently occurring malignancy in males from 15-45 years of age. They are derived from germ cells unable to undergo physiological maturation, although the genetic basis for this is poorly understood. A recent report showed that mutations in the RNase IIIb domain of DICER1, a micro-RNA (miRNA) processing enzyme, are common in non-epithelial ovarian cancers. DICER1 mutations were found in 60% of Sertoli-Leydig cell tumours, clustering in four codons encoding metal-binding sites. Additional analysis of 14 TGCT DNA samples identified one case that also contained a mutation at one of these sites. FINDINGS: A number of previous studies have shown that DICER1 mutations are found in <1% of most cancers. To provide a more accurate estimate of the frequency of such mutations in TGCTs, we have analysed 96 TGCT samples using high resolution melting curve analysis for sequence variants in these four codons. Although we did not detect any mutations in any of these sites, we did identify a novel mutation (c.1725 R>Q) within the RNase IIIb domain in one TGCT sample, which was predicted to disturb DICER1 function. CONCLUSION: Overall our findings suggest a mutation frequency in TGCTs of ~1%. We conclude therefore that hot-spot mutations, frequently seen in Sertoli-Leydig cell tumours, are not common in TGCTs.

SUBMITTER: de Boer CM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3503615 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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DICER1 RNase IIIb domain mutations are infrequent in testicular germ cell tumours.

de Boer Carmela M CM Eini Ronak R Gillis Ad M AM Stoop Hans H Looijenga Leendert H J LH White Stefan J SJ

BMC research notes 20121015

<h4>Background</h4>Testicular Germ Cell Tumours (TGCT) are the most frequently occurring malignancy in males from 15-45 years of age. They are derived from germ cells unable to undergo physiological maturation, although the genetic basis for this is poorly understood. A recent report showed that mutations in the RNase IIIb domain of DICER1, a micro-RNA (miRNA) processing enzyme, are common in non-epithelial ovarian cancers. DICER1 mutations were found in 60% of Sertoli-Leydig cell tumours, clust ...[more]

PMID: 23068969

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Project description:DICER1 is a highly conserved RNase III endoribonuclease essential for the biogenesis of single-stranded mature microRNAs (miRNAs) from stem-loop precursor miRNAs. Somatic mutations in the RNase IIIb domain of DICER1 impair its ability to generate mature 5p miRNAs and are believed to drive tumorigenesis in DICER1 syndrome-associated and sporadic thyroid tumors. However, the DICER1-driven specific changes in miRNAs and resulting changes in gene expression are poorly understood in thyroid tissue. In this study, we profiled the miRNA (n=2,083) and mRNA (n=2,559) transcriptomes of 20 non-neoplastic, 8 adenomatous and 60 pediatric thyroid cancers (13 follicular thyroid cancers [FTC] and 47 papillary thyroid cancers [PTC]) of which 8 had DICER1 RNase IIIb mutations. All DICER1-mutant differentiated thyroid cancers (DTC) were follicular patterned (six follicular variant PTC and two FTC), none had lymph node metastasis. We demonstrate that DICER1 pathogenic somatic mutations were associated with a global reduction of 5p-derived miRNAs, including those particularly abundant in the non-neoplastic thyroid tissue such as let-7 and mir-30 families, known for their tumor suppressor function. There was also an unexpected increase of 3p miRNAs, possibly associated with DICER1 mRNA expression increase in tumors harboring RNase IIIb mutations. These abnormally expressed 3p miRNAs, which are otherwise low or absent in DICER1-wt DTC and non-neoplastic thyroid tissues, make up exceptional markers for malignant thyroid tumors harboring DICER1 RNase IIIb mutations. The extensive disarray in the miRNA transcriptome results in gene expression changes, which were indicative of positive regulation of cell-cycle. Moreover, differentially expressed genes point to increased MAPK signaling output and loss of thyroid differentiation comparable to the RAS-like subgroup of PTC (as coined by The Cancer Genome Atlas), which is reflective of the more indolent clinical behavior of these tumors.

Dataset Information

DICER1 RNase IIIb domain mutations are infrequent in testicular germ cell tumours.

Publications

DICER1 RNase IIIb domain mutations are infrequent in testicular germ cell tumours.

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