Deletion of the carboxyl-terminal exons of K-sam/FGFR2 by short homology-mediated recombination, generating preferential expression of specific messenger RNAs.

The K-sam gene was first identified as an amplified gene from human gastric cancer cell line KATOIII, and its product is identical to fibroblast growth factor receptor 2. The K-sam gene is located on human chromosome 10q26 and is preferentially amplified in the poorly differentiated types, especially in the scirrhous type, of gastric cancers. During the course of studies on the structural characterization of the amplification units, we found that the carboxyl-terminal exons of K-sam were deleted in three of four of the scirrhous type of gastric cancer cell lines. These deletions generate preferential expression of mRNAs encoding K-sam proteins lacking the carboxyl-terminal region containing the tyrosine residues at positions 780, 784, and 813. The carboxyl-terminal region has been reported to have a sequence required for the inhibition of NIH3T3 transformation, indicating that cells with amplification of the truncated K-sam gene have a growth advantage during the carcinogenic process for the scirrhous type of gastric cancers. This is the first report showing the deletion of the carboxyl-terminal exons of the receptor-type of the protein tyrosine kinase gene. Sequence analysis of the DNA sequences surrounding the deletion junctions shows the presence of unique sequences and indicates the involvement of short homology-mediated recombination in the generation of these deletions.