Genetic alterations of the KLF6 gene in colorectal cancers

To investigate whether the KLF6 gene plays an important role in the development and/or progression of colorectal cancers, we searched for mutations and allelic loss of the KLF6 gene in 123 colorectal adenocarcinomas by performing PCR-SSCP sequencing. We found five somatic missense mutations: S155N, G163S, G163D, P183L and G195S. Three of them affected the activation domain of KLF6 and four mutations were predicted to disrupt the putative phosphorylation sites. On LOH analysis, 63 cases were heterozygous for at least one marker and 27 cases (42.9%) showed allelic loss at these markers. These data further support that the KLF6 gene may be one of the candidate tumor suppressor genes in colorectal cancers and that genetic alteration of the KLF6 gene might play a role in the development of colorectal carcinomas.