SPECC1L

Overview

SPECC1L (sperm antigen with calponin homology and coiled-coil domains 1-like) encodes a cytoskeletal organizing protein implicated in neural-crest cell migration. In cancer genomics, SPECC1L has been identified as recurrently affected by intronic mutations in extra-cranial malignant rhabdoid tumors (MRT) and as a fusion partner of SMARCB1 in deletion-driven rearrangements, with alterations associated with reduced SPECC1L expression and disrupted neural-crest migration programs.

Alterations observed in the corpus

  • Intronic mutations in 6/40 extra-cranial MRT cases associated with reduced SPECC1L expression; partner in 4/7 SMARCB1-deletion-driven fusion events; alterations consistent with disrupted neural-crest cell migration PMID:26977886

Cancer types (linked)

  • Malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT): Recurrently affected by intronic mutations (6/40 cases) and chromosomal fusions with SMARCB1 (4/7 deletion-driven fusions); associated with reduced expression PMID:26977886

Co-occurrence and mutual exclusivity

  • Intronic SPECC1L mutations co-occur with SMARCB1 biallelic inactivation in most MRT cases PMID:26977886

Therapeutic relevance

  • No direct therapeutic relevance established; disrupted neural-crest migration is hypothesis-generating PMID:26977886

Open questions

  • Whether intronic SPECC1L mutations represent regulatory disruption or sequencing artifacts in frequently rearranged regions is unresolved PMID:26977886

Sources

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