Expression of the ROS1 oncogene for tyrosine receptor kinase in adult human meningiomas.

Oncogenes have been implicated in the promotion and progression of cancer in humans. Expression of the ROS1 oncogene, a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase superfamily, was examined in human meningiomas by coupled reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays. Two sets of region-specific oligonucleotides, specific for different regions of the ROS1 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), were used in RT-PCR assays to independently examine ROS1 transcripts from primary human meningiomas. ROS1 was expressed at high levels in approximately 55% (17 of 31) of the meningiomas examined, but not expressed in non-neoplastic brain samples. The commonplace expression of the ROS1 oncogene in meningiomas suggests a role for this oncogene in the etiology of these tumors.