This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wang, J. Articles by Liu, J. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wang, J. Articles by Liu, J. M.

Transformation Properties of the ETO Gene, Fusion Partner in t(8:21) Leukemias

Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [J. W., J. M. L.], and Molecular Hematology Section, Laboratory of Chemical Biology, National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases [M. W.], Bethesda, Maryland 20892

The (8;21)(q22;q22) translocation, reported in 40% of M2-subtype acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs), is the second-most frequently observed example of a nonrandom genetic alteration associated with AML. Juxtaposition of the AML1 gene on chromosome 21 to the ETO gene on chromosome 8 fuses the NH₂-terminal portion of AML1 to near-full length ETO, creating AML1/ETO. Previous work has been focused on perturbation of AML1 gene function by the chimeric fusion protein as a mechanism of leukemogenesis. Here, we demonstrate that ETO itself has transforming properties. Ectopic ETO expression in NIH/3T3 cells led to foci of transformation and colony growth in soft agar. ETO-expressing cells grew to higher saturation densities and induced tumors following injection into irradiated and splenectomized nude mice. Our data suggests that ETO may play an important role in the leukemic transforming potential of the AML1/ETO fusion protein.

¹ To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, 10/ACRF/7C103, Bethesda, MD 20892. Phone: (301) 496-5093; Fax: (301) 496-8396; E-mail: LiuJ@gwgate.nhlbi.nih.gov.

Received 5/ 3/96. Accepted 5/15/97.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. L. Redner, J. Wang, and J. M. Liu Chromatin Remodeling and Leukemia: New Therapeutic Paradigms Blood, July 15, 1999; 94(2): 417 - 428. [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Wang, T. Hoshino, R. L. Redner, S. Kajigaya, and J. M. Liu ETO, fusion partner in t(8;21) acute myeloid leukemia, represses transcription by interaction with the human N-CoR/mSin3/HDAC1 complex PNAS, September 1, 1998; 95(18): 10860 - 10865. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]