Multiple self-healing squamous epitheliomata (ESS1) mapped to chromosome 9q22-q31 in families with common ancestry.

A gene (ESS1) predisposing to the development of multiple invasive but self-healing skin tumours (squamous cell epitheliomata) is tightly linked to the polymorphic DNA marker D9S53 (9q31) with a maximum lod score of 9.02 at a recombination fraction of 0.03. Multipoint linkage analysis demonstrates that the disease locus is most likely to lie between D9S58 (9q22.3-31) and ASSP3 (9q11-q22). Comparison of markers associated with ESS1 in independently ascertained families suggests a common origin of the disease and defines the location of ESS1. Haplotype studies indicate that the disease locus is most likely to lie between D9S29 (9q31) and D9S1 (9q22.1-q22.2).

Clustering of missense mutations in the ataxia-telangiectasia gene in a sporadic T-cell leukaemia.

Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is a recessive multi-system disorder caused by mutations in the ATM gene at 11q22-q23 (ref. 3). The risk of cancer, especially lymphoid neoplasias, is substantially elevated in A-T patients and has long been associated with chromosomal instability. By analysing tumour DNA from patients with sporadic T-cell prolymphocytic leukaemia (T-PLL), a rare clonal malignancy with similarities to a mature T-cell leukaemia seen in A-T, we demonstrate a high frequency of ATM mutations in T-PLL. In marked contrast to the ATM mutation pattern in A-T, the most frequent nucleotide changes in this leukaemia were missense mutations. These clustered in the region corresponding to the kinase domain, which is highly conserved in ATM-related proteins in mouse, yeast and Drosophila. The resulting amino-acid substitutions are predicted to interfere with ATP binding or substrate recognition. Two of seventeen mutated T-PLL samples had a previously reported A-T allele. In contrast, no mutations were detected in the p53 gene, suggesting that this tumour suppressor is not frequently altered in this leukaemia. Occasional missense mutations in ATM were also found in tumour DNA from patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (B-NHL) and a B-NHL cell line. The evidence of a significant proportion of loss-of-function mutations and a complete absence of the normal copy of ATM in the majority of mutated tumours establishes somatic inactivation of this gene in the pathogenesis of sporadic T-PLL and suggests that ATM acts as a tumour suppressor. As constitutional DNA was not available, a putative hereditary predisposition to T-PLL will require further investigation.

ATM is usually rearranged in T-cell prolymphocytic leukaemia.

T-prolymphocytic leukaemia (T-PLL) is a rare, sporadic leukaemia similar to a mature T-cell leukaemia seen in some patients with Ataxia Telangiectasia (A-T), a recessive multisystem disorder caused by mutations of the ATM gene at chromosome 11q23. ATM sequence mutations have been reported in 46% of T-PLL cases, but some cases also have karyotypic abnormalities at 11q, including 11q23. This led us to investigate the structure of the ATM locus in a panel of eight cases, two of which had 11q23 abnormalities. As expected, nucleotide changes were detected in some samples. Two remission samples were wild type. To test for structural lesions, DNA fibres were hybridized with a contig of four labelled cosmids spanning the ATM locus. In all samples there were structural lesions and in four samples both alleles were affected. This provides strong evidence for our suggestion that ATM acts as a tumour suppressor during T-PLL tumorigenesis. Some additional role for ATM during T-PLL tumorigenesis is possible since nucleotide changes were present in addition to structural lesions disrupting both alleles. The mechanism of inactivation appeared to be unusual because multiple structural lesions on one allele were often observed.

Heterogeneity of breakpoints at the transcriptional co-activator gene, BOB-1, in lymphoproliferative disease.

Chromosome 11q23 is frequently a site of chromosomal translocation in both acute leukemias and chronic lymphoproliferative disorders. In the former, an 8 kb region within the MLL gene is consistently involved, whereas in the latter breakpoints appear to be heterogeneous. In a B cell acute leukemia cell line with t(14;18)(q32.3;q21.3) we have previously demonstrated a reciprocal translocation between the LAZ3/BCL6 gene at 3q27 and the B cell specific transcriptional coactivator gene BOB-1 at 11q23.1, implicating BOB-1 as a potential proto-oncogene. To confirm the chromosomal localization of BOB-1 we have mapped it by FISH to 11q23.1. It lay immediately telomeric of the ATM gene. We have also investigated the frequency of BOB-1 rearrangements in a panel of 32 cell lines and 71 patient samples. In one case of T cell prolymphocytic leukemia-a disease where 11q23 abnormalities are observed-a chromosomal rearrangement was identified 3.3-0.9 kb centromeric of the 3' end of the gene. Thus, there is a heterogeneity of breakpoints associated with BOB-1 while the frequency of the gene's involvement in lymphoproliferative diseases is low.

HIV-1 infection abolishes CD4 biosynthesis but not CD4 mRNA.

In order to improve understanding of how HIV-1 infection down-modulates cell surface membrane expression of CD4, we have measured several parameters of CD4 expression in the human tumor T-cell lines CEM and MOLT-4 at different times after infection. Three independent HIV-1 isolates were used including one that encodes a truncated nef protein and another that appeared to be noncytolytic against CEM. The level of CD4 mRNA, the rate of biosynthesis of CD4 protein, and the percentage of CD4-positive cells were measured. With each viral isolate it was found that infection led to a specific and almost complete inhibition of CD4 protein biosynthesis. This substantially exceeded, at every time point after infection, a concomitant reduction in CD4 mRNA. Hence an inhibition of translation probably accounts for much of the decline in the rate of CD4 biosynthesis. This implicates a novel selective translational inhibition of host gene expression by HIV-1 as a factor in the disappearance of surface membrane CD4 from infected cultures.

The ataxia telangiectasia gene in familial and sporadic cancer.

The ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) gene, ATM, predisposes affected homozygotes to a wide range of malignancies. It has been suggested that this is a consequence of the genomic instability associated with the syndrome. The elevated risk of malignancy is not, however, observed among A-T heterozygotes (except, apparently, regarding breast cancer). In this report we describe results from the study of the rare sporadic disease, T cell prolymphocytic leukaemia (T-PLL). In all individuals tested, we observed that at least one ATM allele was disrupted by rearrangement, that in many cases both alleles were disrupted and that there were additional mutations, predominantly missense, that clustered toward the 3' end of the gene corresponding to the protein's phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PIK)-related domain. We conclude that the ATM gene can act as a tumour suppressor in the development of sporadic T-PLL. Our finding of a surfeit of mutations within ATM may reflect the involvement of the gene at more than one step in tumorigenesis. In particular, we suggest that the clustering of missense mutations may pertain to the late-onset character of both sporadic and A-T-related T-PLL, since the closest homologue of Atm protein is the yeast TEL1 protein that maintains telomere length. ATM inactivation may not be the initiating event in T-PLL tumorigenesis: prior mutation of another gene--perhaps TCL1 activation--may be obligate. This would explain the recessive character of T-PLL risk in A-T.

Phorbol ester regulation of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase, proliferation, and TcR alpha in a pre-T cell line.

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) is a template-independent DNA polymerase that is transiently expressed during the normal development of T and B lymphocytes. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) has been reported to induce maturation-like changes, including the loss of TdT, in many leukemic cell lines. We investigated the mechanism of TdT repression by PMA in an early thymocyte-like cell line, RPMI 8402. At a concentration of 8 nM, PMA caused both repression of TdT synthesis and arrest of proliferation. At greater concentrations of PMA, these same changes initially occurred, but then cell proliferation resumed, and TdT was reexpressed. At both 8 and 160 nM PMA, TdT biosynthesis and TdT mRNA became undetectable within 8 hours, while cell proliferation and DNA synthesis were not significantly reduced until 16 hours. Growth arrest induced by serum starvation did not result in a similar reduction of TdT RNA even after 48 hours. With 160 nM PMA, TdT mRNA could be detected again by 24 hours, and proliferation resumed. Transcription run-off assays indicated that TdT RNA synthesis ceased within 1 hour after exposure to both 8 and 160 nM PMA. T cell receptor alpha (TcR alpha) RNA was induced when TdT RNA was repressed. TcR beta RNA levels were unchanged, and TcR gamma RNA was up-regulated. TdT gene repression and modulation of cell proliferation as well as induction of TcR gene expression are normal events during intrathymic T cell maturation. This cell model provides a system for analyzing the molecular regulation of these significant developmental events.

A streptococcal erythrogenic toxin preparation augments natural killer activity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Natural killer (NK) activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is augmented by products released by two different strains of streptococci. This property is due at least in part to an erythrogenic toxin (ET). A preparation of physiologically active ET from strain NY5 group A beta-hemolytic streptococci and streptococcal products (SP) derived from the culture supernatants of ATCC strain 19165 group A streptococci were both potent inducers of NK activity. An anti-serum to ET reacted with two polypeptides in SP, one of which comigrated with ET when analyzed by SDS-PAGE. Using an affinity column with an antiserum to ET known to neutralize its mitogenic properties, the NK-enhancing activity of ET and SP was partly absorbed and was recovered upon elution. These findings suggest that immunologically related ETs in different streptococcal strains play a role in the activation of NK cells. This novel property of streptococci may feature in the pathogenesis of streptococcal infections and their protean manifestations.

Serum factors in the progression of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection to AIDS.

We studied the prevalence of four serum factors in individuals at different stages of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection. Soluble interleukin-2 receptors (sIL-2R) were elevated in all antibody-positive groups compared with high-risk, antibody-negative controls. Paraproteins, usually of the IgG-kappa isotype, were found in the sera of a significant number of HIV-1-infected individuals as were antibodies to lymphocytes (ALAs). Serum factors that inhibit proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors appear late in the course of infection and were associated with increasing clinical severity. Measurement of these factors may prove to be useful in defining the stages of infection and in predicting the appearance or exacerbation of symptoms. They may also play a role in the development of the HIV-1-induced immune defects that lead to the expression of clinical acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Deletions and rearrangement of CDKN2 in lymphoid malignancy.

Recurrent abnormalities of the short arm of chromosome 9, including translocations and interstitial deletions, have been reported in both leukemia and lymphoma. The pathologic consequences of these abnormalities remain unknown. The cyclin-dependent kinase 4 inhibitor (CDKN2) gene, which maps to 9p21, has been implicated by the finding of a high frequency of biallelic deletions in leukemic cell lines. We have determined the incidence of structural abnormalities affecting CDKN2 by DNA blot in a panel of 231 cases of leukemia and lymphoma and 66 cell lines derived from patients with lymphoid malignancies with defined cytogenetic abnormalities. Structural alterations of CDKN2 were seen in 20 (8.3%) of all fresh cases and 10 (15.1%) of all cell lines. Biallelic CDKN2 deletions were seen in 11 of 53 (21%) cases of B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL). There was no association with any particular cytogenetic abnormality. Biallelic deletions were also found in high-grade and transformed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) of both B- and T-cell lineages. In two cases of transformed NHL, analysis of sequential samples showed loss of CDKN2 with transformation. Neither deletions nor rearrangements of the CDKN2 gene were seen in any of the 119 leukemias of mature B or T cells analyzed. Biallelic deletions of CDKN2 were observed in 6 of 13 NHL cell lines. Three of the 6 cases had undergone transformation from low- to high-grade disease: in 2 of these cases it was possible to show that the CDKN2 deletions were present in fresh material from the patient and were therefore not an artifact of in vitro culture. Rearrangements of CDKN2 were seen in 2 cases (4%) of BCP-ALL, in 1 case of B-NHL, and in 1 Burkitt's lymphoma cell line and suggest the presence of a "hot spot" for recombination in the vicinity of the CDKN2 gene. These data indicate that the loss of CDKN2 expression may be involved in the pathogenesis of a subset of BCP-ALL, some high-grade NHL, and in the transformation of NHL from low- to high-grade disease. CDKN2 deletions and rearrangements occurred in the absence of detectable cytogenetic changes of chromosome 9p in 25 of 30 (83%) cases. Finally, of 10 cases of BCP-ALL that produced overt, transplantable leukemia in mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), seven showed biallelic CDKN2 deletions. In contrast, none of 11 cases that failed to engraft showed biallelic CDKN2 deletions. BCP-ALL cases that lack CDKN2 expression may have a particular propensity to grow in SCID mice.