MUTATIONAL HOTSPOTS IN THE P53 GENE REVEALED BY CLASSIFICATION ANALYSIS

Glazko G.V., Rogozin I.B., Glazko V.I.

The comparative study of mutational spectra (base substitutions) in the p53 gene from germline cancer-prone families (Li-Fraumeni syndrome) and somatic mutations in tumors of different histogenesis and their derived cell lines was conducted. While spectra from different solid tumors share common hotspots with the germline spectrum (CpG sites), they also contain unique sets of new hotspots that are not observed in the germline spectrum (new CpG and non-CpG sites). Very few hotspots were observed in lymphomas and in vitro cell lines. Our analysis suggested that the distribution of hotspots in the p53 gene could be influenced by cell-to-cell interactions.