Comprehensive Analysis of MEN1 Mutations and Their Role in Cancer
by
and
Devi D. Nelakurti
1,†, 
Amrit L. Pappula
2,†,
Swetha Rajasekaran
3,
Wayne O. Miles
4 and
Ruben C. Petreaca
5,* 1
Biomedical Science Undergraduate Program, The Ohio State University Medical School, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
2
Computer Science and Engineering Undergraduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
3
Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
4
Department of Cancer Biology and Genetics, The Ohio State University Medical School, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
5
Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Marion, OH 43302, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Cancers 2020, 12(9), 2616; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers12092616
Submission received: 30 July 2020
/
Revised: 4 September 2020
/
Accepted: 10 September 2020
/
Published: 14 September 2020
(This article belongs to the Section Cancer Informatics and Big Data)
Simple Summary
Cancers are characterized by accumulation of genetic mutations in key cell cycle regulators that alter or disable the function of these genes. Such mutations can be inherited or arise spontaneously during the life of the individual. The MEN1 gene prevents uncontrolled cell division and it is considered a tumor suppressor. Inherited MEN1 mutations are associated with certain parathyroid and pancreatic syndromes while spontaneous mutations have been detected in cancer cells. We investigated whether inherited mutations appear in cancer cells which would suggest that patients with parathyroid and pancreatic syndromes have a predisposition to develop cancer. We find a weak correlation between the spectrum of inherited mutations and those appearing spontaneously. Thus, inherited MEN1 mutations may not be a good predictor of tumorigenesis.
Abstract
MENIN is a scaffold protein encoded by the MEN1 gene that functions in multiple biological processes, including cell proliferation, migration, gene expression, and DNA damage repair. MEN1 is a tumor suppressor gene, and mutations that disrupts MEN1 function are common to many tumor types. Mutations within MEN1 may also be inherited (germline). Many of these inherited mutations are associated with a number of pathogenic syndromes of the parathyroid and pancreas, and some also predispose patients to hyperplasia. In this study, we cataloged the reported germline mutations from the ClinVar database and compared them with the somatic mutations detected in cancers from the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC) database. We then used statistical software to determine the probability of mutations being pathogenic or driver. Our data show that many confirmed germline mutations do not appear in tumor samples. Thus, most mutations that disable MEN1 function in tumors are somatic in nature. Furthermore, of the germline mutations that do appear in tumors, only a fraction has the potential to be pathogenic or driver mutations.
Keywords:
pancreatic cancer; parathyroid cancer; mutational signatures
