Variable FHIT transcripts in non-neoplastic tissues.

We used nested reverse transcriptase PCR to investigate the expression of the FHIT gene, a presumptive tumor suppressor gene located in chromosomal band 3p 14.2, in non-neoplastic samples. Multiple transcripts of the FHIT gene were found in peripheral blood lymphocytes, skeletal muscle, and liver of healthy individuals, as well as in a cell line derived from isynovial tissue. The data indicate that variable splicing of the FHIT transcript, leading to deletions of exons and thus anomalous or absent FHIT protein production, occurs frequently in non-neoplastic tissues. Hence, the finding of multiple nonfunctional FHIT transcripts is not tumor-specific and cannot be used as a genetic marker of neoplasia.