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Genomic instability associated with myotonic dystrophy does not involve p53 expression and activity
Author(s) -
Gennarelli Massimo,
Lucarelli Marco,
Amicucci Paola,
Soddu Silvia,
Novelli Giuseppe,
Dallapiccola Bruno
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
cell biochemistry and function
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1099-0844
pISSN - 0263-6484
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-0844(199806)16:2<117::aid-cbf776>3.0.co;2-x
Subject(s) - myotonic dystrophy , genome instability , instability , genetics , myotonia , expression (computer science) , biology , computational biology , dna , dna damage , computer science , physics , mechanics , programming language
We tested the hypothesis that the instability of the trinucleotide CTG at the myotonic dystrophy (DM) locus could be an intrinsic DNA damage recognisable by the p53 cell‐cycle checkpoint system. p53 mRNA and protein levels were assayed in muscle biopsies and fibroblast cell lines of DM patients and unaffected controls. No differences in mRNA and protein levels were found between patients and controls, regardless of their expansion size. However, in the cells treated with adryamicin, p53 protein levels were comparable in DM and control cells. We conclude that the CTG trinucleotide expansion within the myotonin gene does not activate the p53 surveillance system, at least in adult tissues. The escape of trinucleotide expansion from the p53‐mediated DNA repair system could explain some of the biological characteristics of genome instability. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.