Connexin 37 mutations in rat hepatic angiosarcomas induced by vinyl chloride.

Connexin genes have been shown to restore normal cell growth when transfected into certain tumorigenic cells and thus are considered to form a family of tumor suppressor genes. In this study, we have analyzed mutations of the connexin 37 (Cx37) gene in rat hepatic angiosarcomas induced by vinyl chloride. A total of 25 rat liver tumors (22 hepatic angiosarcomas and 3 hepatocellular carcinomas) were analyzed by PCR-single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis and DNA sequencing. Four mutations were detected in three tumors: (a) one GGG(Gly) to GAG(Glu) mutation at codon 168; and (b) three silent mutations, CGA(Arg) to CGC(Arg), at codon 166. In addition, we found that codon 88 is polymorphic (GAG(Glu) to GAA(Glu)). Cx37 proteins are detectable in endothelial cells of normal liver by immunohistochemical analysis, but none of the angiosarcomas showed Cx37-positive spots. These results suggest that Cx37-mediated gap junctional intercellular communication may be disturbed in most of these angiosarcomas, but mutation of the Cx37 gene is rare.