Human Molecular Genetics Advance Access originally published online on July 5, 2007
Human Molecular Genetics 2007 16(18):2233-2240; doi:10.1093/hmg/ddm175
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Trans-generational epistasis between Dnd1Ter and other modifier genes controls susceptibility to testicular germ cell tumors
Department of Genetics, BRB731, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 2163680581; Fax: +1 2163683832; Email: jhn4{at}case.edu/ jhn4{at}po.cwry.edu
Received May 2, 2007; Revised June 19, 2007; Accepted June 27, 2007
The genetic basis for susceptibility to testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs) has been remarkably elusive. Although TGCTs are the most common cancer in young men and have an unusually strong familial risk, only one low-frequency susceptibility gene has been identified for this highly multigenic trait. In tests to determine whether pairs of genetic variants act epistatically to modulate susceptibility in the 129/Sv mouse model of spontaneous TGCTs, we discovered an unusual mode of inheritance that involved interactions between different genes in different generations. Any of six genetic variants, in either the female or male parent interacted with the Dnd1Ter mutation in male offspring to significantly increase both the frequency of affected Ter/+ males and the proportion of bilateral cases. Trans-generational epistasis is a novel mode of epigenetic inheritance that could account for the difficulty of finding TGCT susceptibility genes in humans and might represent a mechanism for transmitting information about genetic and environmental conditions from parents to offspring through the germline.
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J. D. Heaney, M.-Y. J. Lam, M. V. Michelson, and J. H. Nadeau Loss of the Transmembrane but not the Soluble Kit Ligand Isoform Increases Testicular Germ Cell Tumor Susceptibility in Mice Cancer Res., July 1, 2008; 68(13): 5193 - 5197. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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