Molecular Analysis of Chromosome 7q21.3 in Uterine Leiomyoma: Analysis using Markers with Linkage to Insulin Resistance

Recent sibling-pair linkage analyses have indicated possible linkage of noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) with a number of markers on the long arm of chromosome 7. A coincidental and recent discovery is that specific genetic anomalies identified on chromosome 7 in uterine leiomyoma tumor cells in many cases correspond, cytogenetically, to the same region where genetic linkage to insulin resistance has been identified. In the present study, 15 closely spaced microsatellite markers were used to finely map deletion breakpoints and to test for allelic loss of 7q markers in 12 uterine leiomyoma tumor samples with cytogenetically defined deletions. Of the 9 informative tumor samples, three exhibited breakpoints in the same region where genetic linkage to insulin resistance has been identified (between PON and UT901). Because breakpoints in neoplasias often occur within or adjacent to expressed sequences, these breakpoints may provide a molecular tool to aid in the identification of candidate genes for insulin resistance.