Mutational analysis of caspase‐14 gene in common carcinomas

Aims: Whereas most caspases play roles in apoptosis and/or inflammation, caspase‐14 plays a main role in epithelial differentiation. In cancers, expression of caspase‐14 is frequently altered and is associated with some clinicopathological characteristics, suggesting caspase‐14 might contribute to the pathogenesis of cancers. As a potential mechanism of caspase‐14 alterations in cancers, we explored the possibility that mutation of caspase‐14 gene is a characteristic of human cancers. Methods: We analysed the entire coding region and all splice sites of human caspase‐14 gene for the detection of somatic mutations in a series of 345 cancers, including 105 colorectal, 60 gastric, 60 hepatocellular, 60 breast and 60 lung carcinomas, by a single‐strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) assay. Results: Overall, we detected two somatic mutations of caspase‐14 gene, which consisted of one missense mutation (S32Y) and one silent mutation (T234T). The caspase‐14 mutations were detected in two of 105 colorectal carcinomas (1.9%), but not in other carcinomas. Conclusion: These data indicate that caspase‐14 gene is rarely mutated in colorectal carcinomas, but not mutated in gastric, lung, breast and hepatocellular carcinomas. The data also suggest that the caspase‐14 mutation may not be a direct target of inactivation in tumorigenesis of common carcinomas.