Novel p53 splice site mutations in three families with Li-Fraumeni syndrome

Germline mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene predispose to a variety of cancers in families with Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Most germline p53 mutations observed to date cause amino acid substitutions in the protein's central sequence-specific DNA binding domain. Outside this conserved core region, however, we found novel alterations in sequences that regulate precursor mRNA splicing in three Li-Fraumeni syndrome families. Two splice site mutations affected the consensus sequence at the splice donor sites of introns 1 and 9, and produced unstable variant transcripts in normal cells. A third mutation at the splice acceptor site of intron 9 generated splicing at a cryptic acceptor site in intron 9, These splice site alterations emphasize the need to examine both noncoding and untranslated regions of the p53 gene for germline mutations in Li-Fraumeni syndrome families.