Identification of genetic polymorphisms through comparative DNA sequence analysis on the K-ras gene: Implications for lung tumor susceptibility

In the present study, the authors performed a comparative DNA sequence analysis of the K-ras gene. By comparing sequences from different mouse inbred strains, the authors have identified new nucleotide polymorphisms in the noncoding regions of mouse K-ras gene. They have also identified noncoding DNA segments evolutionary conserved among the human, mouse, and rat. Computational analysis for transcription factor binding sites suggests that these polymorphic and conserved DNA sequences harbor potential cis-regulatory elements, which may contribute to the transcriptional regulation of the K-ras gene. Further studies on these potential regulatory sites may help to elucidate the fundamental mechanism underlying allele-specific activation and expression of K-ras gene in hybrid mouse lung tumors, which determines lung tumor susceptibility in mice.