Bio Background |
Most acute leukemias in infancy and at least 5% of acute lymphoblastic leukemias and acute myeloid leukemias of older children and adults show abnormalities of chromosome band 11q23. In these cases, translocation results in fusion of a gene at 11q23, variously called ALL1, MLL, and the human homolog of Drosophila trithorax, with part of a gene on chromosome 4, chromosome 9, or chromosome 19. The cloning and characterization of the partner gene involved in a fourth common translocation involving 11q23, t(6; 11)(q27; q23) has been described. The gene, designated MLLT4 or alternatively AF6, expressed in a variety of cell types and encoded a protein of 1, 612 amino acids. The protein contains short stretches rich in proline, charged amino acids, serines, or glutamines. In addition, the AF6 protein contains the GLGF motif shared with several proteins of vertebrates and invertebrates thought to be involved in signal transduction at special cell-cell junctions. Using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) by PCR, the breakpoint in AF6 was confirmed and a cDNA clone that was used as a probe to screen a chromosome 6 cosmid library was identified. By fluorescence in situ hybridization, the single clone that was isolated was found to map distal to the critically deleted region associated with ovarian malignancies. AF6 is therefore distinct from and lies telomeric to that region. |
Bio References |
1. Beausoleil, S.A., et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 101(33):12130-12135 (2004). 2. Mungall, A.J., et al., Nature 425(6960):805-811 (2003). 3. Saito, S., et al., DNA Res. 5(2):115-120 (1998). 4. Prasad, R., et al., Cancer Res. 53(23):5624-5628 (1993). 5. Takai, Y., et al., J. Cell. Sci. 116 (PT 1), 17-27 (2003). |