Use of PCR amplification of cDNA to study mechanisms of human cell mutagenesis and malignant transformation

PCR is widely employed to amplify short segments of genomic DNA to determine if a specific change has occurred. But some investigators need to sequence the entire coding region of mammalian genes to determine what specific changes have occurred. In 1989, we [Yang et al: Gene 83:347–354] described a method to copy mRNA of the hypoxanthine (guanine) phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) gene directly from the lysate of a clone of 6‐thioguonine‐resistant mutant diploid human fibroblasts without the need for RNA extraction or DNA template purification. To avoid detecting random changes introduced by polymerases, 100 to 500 cells from an individual clone, each containing the identical mutation, are lysed and the cDNA is amplified 1010‐ to 1011‐fold to obtain 5 to 10 μg of DNA. The consensus sequence of the cDNA is determined by direct nucleotide sequencing. Using this method, we have investigated the kinds of mutations induced by carcinogens in the coding region of the HPRT gene and their location in the gene and examined the role of DNA repair in this process. Normal repair‐proficient human cells and cells deficient in DNA repair were exposed to mutagens in exponential growth or synchronized and exposed at the beginning of S phase or in G1 phase several hr prior to DNA replication. The kinds and location of mutations in the HPRT gene were determined and knowledge of the nature of the DNA lesions formed by the various mutagens allowed assignment of the DNA strand in which the premutagenic lesion that gave rise to the mutation had been located. Related assays involving PCR have been used to determine the nature of mutations in the coding region of the H‐, N‐, or K‐ras genes of tumor‐derived malignant human cells and to determine whether or not such cells express specific growth factor genes.