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British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 1999 Feb;79(3-4):440–444. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6690068

Genomic structure and alterations of homeobox gene CDX2 in colorectal carcinomas

O K Yagi 1, Y Akiyama 2, Y Yuasa 2
PMCID: PMC2362430  PMID: 10027310

Abstract

Expression of CDX2, a caudal-related homeobox gene, was found to be decreased in colorectal carcinomas. Heterozygous null mutant mice as to Cdx2 develop multiple intestinal adenomatous polyps. To clarify the role of CDX2 in colorectal carcinogenesis, we determined its genomic structure, and searched for mutations of CDX2 in 49 sporadic colorectal carcinomas and ten hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancers (HNPCC) without microsatellite instability. None of them exhibited a mutation. We further examined 19 HNPCC carcinomas with microsatellite instability for mutations in a (G)7 repeat site within CDX2. One of them (5.3%) exhibited one G insertion. Loss of heterozygosity was observed in 2 of the 20 (10%) informative sporadic carcinomas, and in one of the three (33.3%) informative HNPCC cancers. These data indicate that CDX2 may play only a minor role in colorectal carcinogenesis. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaign

Keywords: colorectal carcinoma, caudal-related homeobox gene, CDX2, mutation, loss of heterozygosity

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Selected References

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