TERT Promoter Mutations in Familial and Sporadic Melanoma.

Horn S, Figl A, Rachakonda PS, Fischer C, Sucker A, Gast A, Kadel S, Moll I, Nagore E, Hemminki K, Schadendorf D, Kumar R.

Source

Division of Molecular Genetic Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.

Abstract

Cutaneous melanoma occurs in both familial and sporadic forms. We investigated a melanoma-prone family through linkage analysis and high-throughput sequencing and identified a disease-segregating germ line mutation in the promoter of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene, which encodes the catalytic subunit of telomerase. The mutation creates a new binding motif for Ets/TCF transcription factors near the transcription start and in reporter gene assays, caused up to 2-fold increase in transcription. We then screened the TERT promoter in sporadic melanoma and observed recurrent UV signature somatic mutations in 125/168 (74%) of human cell lines derived from metastatic melanomas, corresponding metastatic tumor tissues (45/53, 85%) and in 25/77 (33%) primary melanomas. The majority of those mutations occurred at two positions in the TERT promoter and also generated binding motifs for ETS/TCF transcription factors.