Functional marker chromosomes lacking detectable alpha satellite DNA: a tool for centromere study.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M Darfler.
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AML1, a gene encoding a protein of the PEBP2/CBF family of transcription factors is disrupted by translocations associated with human leukemia. In the t(8;21) acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), AML1 was found fused to a gene on chromosome 8 that we designated CDR (also known as ETO and MTG8). Immunoprecipitation experiments followed by immunoblotting using a combination of antibodies against different epitopes of one of the predicted chimeric proteins encoded by a fully characterized fusion transcript enabled us to visualize a chimeric protein in the t(8;21) Kasumi-1 cell line. The estimated size of this protein is 64 kDa. Immunoblotting of leukemic blasts containing the t(8;21) detected a protein of the same size. Immunofluorescence experiments indicate that the chimeric protein is localized in the nucleus. A normal AML1 protein of 27 kDa was also detected in t(8;21) Kasumi-1 cells. It remains to be established by which mechanism the mutant AML1 isoform may contribute to the leukemogenesis process of t(8;21)-positive acute myeloid leukemia.
Centromere activation, an important mechanism in karyotype evolution, is occasionally observed in some human chromosome rearrangements. We report a possible occurrence of centromere activation in a marker chromosome containing an atypical centromere associated with an inverted duplication of the region 14q32 --> qter. The marker chromosome's reduced centromere lacks both the alpha and beta satellite sequences usually found at normal centromeres. In an attempt to identify the centromeric sequences, the marker chromosome was flow-sorted and amplified by a degenerate oligonucleotide primer polymerase chain reaction. Reverse chromosome painting experiments showed that the marker chromosome contains sequences that are unique to the distal region of chromosome 14, as well as a low copy number of (centromeric) sequences that are also highly represented in the centromeres of chromosomes 18 and 19. These data suggest the activation of a novel centromere in the 14q32 --> qter region, very likely consequent to the duplication of the region itself.
In the translocation (8;21)(q22;q22) associated with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), part of the long arm of chromosome 8 is reciprocally translocated onto chromosome 21. At the molecular level the translocation results in the fusion of the 5' region of the AML1 gene on chromosome 21 and almost the entire CDR gene (also ETO or MTG8) on chromosome 8. The translocation can be demonstrated by techniques such as Southern blot analysis of DNA and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of mRNA. Neither of these methods demonstrates the translocation in individual cells. To detect the translocation at the single cell level, we used two probes, a cosmid clone containing the first five exons of AML1 and a P1 clone containing the entire CDR gene. Hybridization of the two probes to the distal and proximal side of the translocation breakpoint on chromosome 8 was expected to highlight the 8q-derivative in an interphase cell. To demonstrate the ability to identify the translocation in interphase cells using two-color FISH, these two probes were hybridized simultaneously to the Kasumi-1 cell line containing the 8;21 translocation and to t(8;21)-positive leukemic cells from a patient. Each probe was detected with a different color so that their relationship in the sample could be determined within the same interphase cell. Simultaneous hybridization of the CDR and AML1 probes to interphase cells resulted in one red and one green hybridization signal randomly located in the cell, from the hybridization to the normal chromosomes (8, 21), and one red-green pair of signals from the close hybridization of the two probes to the fusion gene on the derivative 8q-chromosome, indicating the translocation. This technique may be a useful complement for the analysis of the t(8;21), since critical information can be obtained from samples not suited for RT-PCR and conventional cytogenetic techniques. In addition, it may be useful for the assessment of minimal residual disease where RT-PCR is of limited value.
A method for efficient nonradioactive labeling of DNA with biotin using random primer extension has been developed. Under the conditions described, a significant amount of DNA synthesis occurs during incorporation of the nonradioactive label, resulting in amplification of the original template DNA. The effect of primer size, substrate concentration, enzyme concentration, and ratio of biotinylated nucleotide to normal nucleotide on the amount of DNA synthesis was determined. Amplifications of 10- to > 300-fold were attained, depending on the starting template concentration. Template may be varied from 1 to 500 ng per reaction. The size of the resulting biotinylated probes is 100-1000 nucleotides with a significant proportion in the 100-300 nucleotide range. The biotinylated probes were used to detect single-copy genes on Southern blot hybridizations and to identify specific loci in metaphase chromosome spreads by in situ hybridization followed by fluorescent detection with streptavidin-fluorescein isothiocyanate. Random primer amplification and labeling provides a convenient method for preparation of biotinylated probes from small amounts of template DNA.
A constitutional chromosome 14 rearrangement was observed in a female with a psychodevelopmental disorder. Karyotype analysis using a variety of chromosome techniques, QFQ, GTG, CBG, Ag-NOR and DA-DAPI, showed a deletion of chromosome 14q32.1-qter region in association with a supernumerary marker chromosome. The marker, resembling a submetacentric, approximately half the size of a G group chromosome is C band and Ag-NOR negative. The heteromorphism of the satellites showed that the deleted chromosome 14 is paternal in origin. Chromosome painting using an Alu-PCR probe specific for the human chromosome 14 and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) showed that the marker contains chromosome 14q32 sequences. It is likely that the marker was generated from the deleted chromosome 14 region through a complex rearrangement.