Primary malignant lymphoma of the brain: analysis of MMAC1 (PTEN) tumor suppressor gene

With the use of RT-PCR (reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction), Northern blot analysis, and Western blot analysis, seven primary brain lymphomas were examined for the state of the MMACI tumor suppressor gene. Nucleotide analysis of RT-PCR clones revealed no abnormality in the MMAC1 coding sequence in each case. Although Northern blot revealed variation among cases in the signal intensities for MMAC1 mRNA, Western blot revealed a distinct MMAC1 protein band in all cases, suggesting that the actual MMAC1 expressions were similar. In Western blot analysis of phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), which is regulated positively by PI3K (phosphoinositide-3 kinase) and negatively by MMAC1, all the lymphomas revealed an Akt band but not a p-Akt band, suggesting that the MMAC1 phosphatase activity was maintained in each case. These findings suggest that the MMAC1 gene is normal in its coding sequence, gene expression, and phosphatase activity in the lymphomas. Thus, unlike the p16 and p15 tumor suppressor genes, which are frequently deleted and inactivated in brain lymphoma and represent a striking contrast to systemic lymphoma, MMAC1 may not play an important role in carcinogenesis in this tumor, as in the systemic counterpart.