Epigenetic and risk factors of testicular germ cell tumors: a brief review
FRONTIERS IN BIOSCIENCE-LANDMARK
Authors: Adrian Landero-Huerta, Daniel; Maria Vigueras-Villasenor, Rosa; Yokoyama-Rebollar, Emiy; Arechaga-Ocampo, Elena; Cesar Rojas-Castaneda, Julio; Jimenez-Trejo, Francisco; Chavez-Saldana, Margarita
Abstract
Testicular germ cell cancer (TGCT) is the most common malignancy among young adult males, which has become important due to its increased incidence and mortality in the population worldwide. The etiology is multifactorial. Recent studies have shown some associations between the development of isolated TGCT and certain risk factors, such as exposure to endocrine disruptors, cryptorchidism, and family history of cancer, in order to identify the key pieces in carcinogenesis. Some of the most important findings in recent years is the association of different genes, such as c-KIT/KITLG, expression of the miR-371-373 cluster and protein expression as c-KIT and POU5F1 in the development of this neoplasia, and the identification of new molecular markers as TGFBR3 gene, identifying aberrant methylation patterns in promoter regions of several genes, expression of miR-1297 which regulates PTEN and protein expression as DMTR1. In the future, a multidisciplinary research strategy could provide valuable new insights into the etiology of TGCTs, which support clinical diagnosis of TGCT in the next years to increase survival in this kind of patients.
Novel mutation in the KITLG gene in familial progressive hyperpigmentation with or without hypopigmentation
JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY
Authors: Kato, Maki; Yagami, Akiko; Tsukamoto, Tetsuya; Shinkai, Yasuko; Kato, Takema; Kurahashi, Hiroki
Abstract
We herein report a novel mutation in familial progressive hyper- and hypopigmentation (FPHH). The KITLG gene encoding the KIT ligand protein is a disease-causing gene for FPHH. Various disease-causing gain-of-function mutations, which reside within or adjacent to the conserved VTNN motif of this gene, have been described to date. We have now identified a novel KITLG mutation, c.337G>A (p.Glu113Lys), in FPHH which is located within another ligand-receptor interaction site.