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Clear cell renal carcinomas are most frequently characterized by loss of function of both copies of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease gene, suggesting that the VHL gene product plays an important role in regulating renal cell proliferation. To directly assess the function of the VHL gene product, we transfected the wild-type VHL gene into two renal carcinoma cell lines that lacked normal expression of the gene. Expression of the wild-type VHL gene led to a dramatic suppression of growth in two renal carcinoma cell lines, A498 and UMRC6 in vitro, as measured by colony formation and direct cell counting. Transfection of a naturally occurring mutant VHL gene (nucleotide 713 G to A, Arg to Gln) did not lead to growth suppression of these renal carcinoma cells, nor did transfection of the wild-type VHL gene into two non-renal tumor cell lines that expressed the endogenous wild-type VHL gene. Expression constructs, which included the first ATG at nucleotide 214, were sufficient to produce the strongest growth suppression. These experiments provide direct evidence that the VHL gene product functions to suppress the growth of renal carcinoma cells and also provide a model for mapping the domains of the VHL protein important in suppressing tumor growth.

von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL) is an inherited neoplastic disease characterized by a predisposition to develop retinal angiomas, central nervous system hemangioblastomas, renal cell carcinomas, pancreatic cysts, and pheochromocytomas. The VHL gene was recently isolated by positional cloning. The cDNA encodes 852 nucleotides in 3 exons. The VHL gene is unrelated to any known gene families. We identified germline mutations in 85/114 (75%) of VHL families. Clinical heterogeneity is a well-known feature of VHL. VHL families were classified into 2 types based on the presence or absence of pheochromocytoma. The types of mutations responsible for VHL without pheochromocytoma (VHL type 1) differed from those responsible for VHL with pheochromocytoma (VHL type 2). Fifty-six % of the mutations responsible for VHL type 1 were microdeletions/insertions, nonsense mutations, or deletions; 96% of the mutations responsible for VHL type 2 were missense mutations. Specific mutations in codon 238 accounted for 43% of the mutations responsible for VHL type 2. The mutations identified in these families will be useful in presymptomatic diagnosis. The identification of mutations associated with phenotypes contributes to the understanding of fundamental genetic mechanisms of VHL disease.

We have isolated and ordered yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) and cosmids surrounding the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor and plasma membrane Ca(2+)-transporting ATPase isoform 2 (PMCA-2) genes on chromosome 3p25-26. The YAC contig consists of six YACs and covers a region of 1 megabase. A cosmid-phage contig around VHL and PMCA-2 genes (400 kilobases) was established and integrated into the YAC map. Using these clones, we generated an EcoRI map of the 400-kilobase region. PMCA-2 and VHL complementary DNA were positioned entirely within the cosmid-phage contig as well as two polymorphic markers (D3S601 and D3S1317). This physical map of the cloned region will allow a detailed analysis of both the PMCA-2 and VHL genes. Some of the genomic clones may be useful for isolation of the full-length VHL complementary DNA.

Von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL) is an inherited multisystem neoplastic disorder. We prepared a 2.5-megabase (Mb) restriction map of the region surrounding the VHL gene and identified and characterized overlapping deletions in three unrelated patients affected with VHL. The smallest nested deletion (100 kb) was located within a 510-kb NruI fragment detected by 19-63'. The rearrangements detected will be useful in isolating and evaluating candidate cDNAs for the VHL gene. The detailed physical map will be useful in studying the organization and structure of genes in the VHL region.

A gene discovered by positional cloning has been identified as the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease tumor suppressor gene. A restriction fragment encompassing the gene showed rearrangements in 28 of 221 VHL kindreds. Eighteen of these rearrangements were due to deletions in the candidate gene, including three large nonoverlapping deletions. Intragenic mutations were detected in cell lines derived from VHL patients and from sporadic renal cell carcinomas. The VHL gene is evolutionarily conserved and encodes two widely expressed transcripts of approximately 6 and 6.5 kilobases. The partial sequence of the inferred gene product shows no homology to other proteins, except for an acidic repeat domain found in the procyclic surface membrane glycoprotein of Trypanosoma brucei.