BIOLOGICAL STUDIES OF A NEW RECURRENT FUSION GENE FOUND IN T-CELL LEUKAEMIA

染色体易位是白血病中常见的遗传改变，其中两条染色体发生断裂并重新连接形成两条新的杂交染色体。易位在确定白血病发展中重要的基因方面具有非常宝贵的价值。易位的遗传后果是邻近断裂点的关键基因的失调或形成具有新特性的新杂交基因。我们已经确定了涉及4号和11号染色体的T细胞白血病易位的断点处的基因。已知11号染色体基因NUP 98与急性髓性白血病中的另外两种易位有关，但与T细胞白血病无关。4号染色体基因RAP 1GDS以前没有被证明与人类癌症有关。该项目旨在了解融合蛋白NUP 98-RAP 1GDS（NRG）如何在白血病的起源中发挥作用。

Chromosome translocation, in which breaks occur in two chromosomes and rejoin to form two new hybrid chromosomes, is a common genetic alteration in leukaemia. Translocations have been invaluable in identifying genes important in the development of leukaemia. The genetic consequence of translocation is either the deregulation of critical genes adjacent to the breakpoints or the formation of new hybrid genes with novel properties. We have identified the genes at the breakpoints of a T-cell leukaemia translocation involving chromosomes 4 and 11. The chromosome 11 gene, NUP98, is known to be involved in two other translocations in acute myeloid leukaemia but not in T-cell leukaemia. The chromosome 4 gene RAP1GDS has not been previously shown to be involved in human cancer. This project seeks to understand how the fusion protein NUP98-RAP1GDS (NRG) plays a role in the origin of leukaemia.