Modification of allele-specific polymerase chain reaction for hMYH mutation analysis in Taiwanese patients with colorectal cancer

hMYH, a putative human E. coli MutY homology, can effectively remove adenine opposite to GO or G in duplex oligonucleotides with its glycosylase and AP lyase activities. Its germline mutations have been reported to be associated with colorectal cancer in Caucasian population. Plasmid DNA containing hMYH was employed to optimize the allele-specific polymerase chain reaction analysis conditions. The reliability of analysis was further improved by reducing the template concentration and adjusting annealing temperature. Genomic DNA of Taiwanese patients who had been diagnosed as colorectal cancer by the Taichung Veterans General Hospital were then examined for the mutations of hMYH, including G382D, Y165C and V232F. However, none of patients were detected with those reported mutations in hMYH. The relationship between the reported mutations of hMYH and colorectal cancer in Taiwan population is uncertain. Our results implicate that the frequencies of hMYH mutations may depend on the pathology of colorectal cancer and vary among different ethnic groups.