Science Letters

Mutational analysis of MDM2 gene in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hafiz Muzaffar Ali a, Shahzad Bhatti a, Muhammad Naeem Iqbal b,c*, Shahzad Ali d, Aftab Ahmad e, Muhammad Irfan f, Ali Muhammad f

a Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan

b The School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agricultural and Forestry University Fuzhou 350002, P R China

c Department of Microbiology, d: Department of Wildlife and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore 54000, Pakistan

e National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS), University of the Punjab, Lahore 54000, Pakistan.

f Department of Zoology, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the fifth most prevalent cancer worldwide, and accounts for the top three causes of death in the Asia-Pacific region. The risk factors associated with HCC include age, sex, alcohol, diet, and infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and/or hepatitis C virus (HCV). The incidence rate of HCC is plausibly linked to geographic area and Geo-economic conditions and it is possible that gene polymorphism may be associated with the risk of HCC. In this research, the PCR technique was used for the diagnosis of point mutation in the MDM2 gene. The point mutation at MDM2-SNP309 from T to G was detected which may be responsible for HCC in patients with HCV. In this study, five cases showed the mutational changes in the allele T/G. The frequency of the mutated alleles was 10% of the mutations. So it is concluded that the mutation is responsible for HCC and the frequency of a mutated T/G allele is more liable to cause the disease.

Key words: Hepatocellular Carcinoma, cancer, polymorphism, mutation.

Received: October 26, 2013 Revised December 04, 2014 Published online first January 10, 2014

*Corresponding Author Muhammad Naeem Iqbal Email driqbalnaeem@hotmail.com Phone +92-3328894212