Functional effects of the MLH1-93G>A polymorphism on MLH1/EPM2AIP1 promoter activity

Defective mismatch repair leads to the microsatellite instability (MSI) phenotype of colorectal cancer (CRC). We previously showed that the MLH1-93G>A promoter polymorphism is strongly associated with MSI tumours, suggesting a modifier role for this polymorphism in CRC. The MLH1 promoter is bi-directional with the EPM2AIP1 gene located on the antisense strand. In order to evaluate the functional effects of this polymorphism, we transfected a panel of CRC, endometrial cancer and non-tumourigenic cell lines with MLH1 luciferase promoter constructs. We used constructs in reverse orientation to assess the effect of this polymorphism on EPM2AIP1. The luciferase activities were compared using a two-sided Student's t-test. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) were used to evaluate whether differential protein binding was responsible for the differences in promoter activity. We observed a higher level of activity with the -93G allele in all the cell lines observed; including the CRC cell line, HCT116 (P=0.002), the endometrial cancer cell line, HEC-1-A (PA polymorphism modifies the efficiency of MLH1/EPM2AIP1 transcription.