Abstract
Multiple endocrine neoplasia types 2A and 2B (MEN2A and MEN2B) and familial medullary thyroid carcinoma are dominantly inherited cancer syndromes. All three syndromes are associated with mutations in RET, which encodes a receptor-like tyrosine kinase. The altered RET alleles were shown to be transforming genes in NIH 3T3 cells as a consequence of constitutive activation of the RET kinase. The MEN2A mutation resulted in RET dimerization at steady state, whereas the MEN2B mutation altered RET catalytic properties both quantitatively and qualitatively. Oncogenic conversion of RET in these neoplastic syndromes establishes germline transmission of dominant transforming genes in human cancer.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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3T3 Cells
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Alleles
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Animals
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Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / genetics*
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Drosophila Proteins*
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Genetic Vectors
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Humans
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Mice
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Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2a / genetics*
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Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2b / genetics*
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Mutation
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Phosphorylation
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins / chemistry
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins / genetics*
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins / metabolism
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret
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Proto-Oncogenes*
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Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / chemistry
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Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / genetics*
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Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / metabolism
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Substrate Specificity
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Transfection
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Tumor Cells, Cultured
Substances
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Drosophila Proteins
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret
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Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
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Ret protein, Drosophila
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Ret protein, mouse