Different lengths of a polymorphic repeat sequence in the thymidylate synthase gene affect translational efficiency but not its gene expression.

Abstract

From the results of both in vitro and in vivo study, we conclude that TS mRNA with a three-repeat sequence has greater translation efficiency than that with the two-repeat sequence. The results provide the rationale for comprehensive usage of TS genotyping with quantitation of TS mRNA or TS protein to predict the patient's response to 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy.