The oncogenic potential of the Pax3-FKHR fusion protein requires the Pax3 homeodomain recognition helix but not the Pax3 paired-box DNA binding domain.

The chimeric transcription factor Pax3-FKHR, produced by the t(2;13)(q35;q14) chromosomal translocation in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, consists of the two Pax3 DNA binding domains (paired box and homeodomain) fused to the C-terminal forkhead (FKHR) sequences that contain a potent transcriptional activation domain. To determine which of these domains are required for cellular transformation, Pax3, Pax3-FKHR, and selected mutants were retrovirally expressed in NIH 3T3 cells and evaluated for their capacity to promote anchorage-independent cell growth. Mutational analysis revealed that both the third alpha-helix of the homeodomain and a small region of the FKHR transactivation domain are absolutely required for efficient transformation by the Pax3-FKHR fusion protein. Surprisingly, point mutations in the paired domain that abrogate sequence-specific DNA binding retained transformation potential equivalent to that of the wild-type protein. This finding suggests that DNA binding mediated through the Pax3 paired box is not required for transformation. Our results demonstrate that the integrity of the Pax3 homeodomain recognition helix and the FKHR transactivation domain is necessary for efficient cellular transformation by the Pax3-FKHR fusion protein.

Fusion of PAX3 to a member of the forkhead family of transcription factors in human alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a malignant tumor of skeletal muscle, is characterized by a chromosomal translocation, t(2;13)(q35;q14). This translocation is associated with a structural rearrangement of the gene encoding PAX3, a presumed transcriptional regulator expressed exclusively during embryogenesis. The breakpoint results in a fusion between PAX3 and a gene provisionally named ALV, a novel member of the forkhead family of transcription factors. In PAX3-ALV, the structural integrity of both PAX3 DNA-binding regions, the paired box and homeodomain, are retained while the putative transcriptional activation domain of PAX3 is replaced by the bisected forkhead DNA-binding domain of ALV. Formation of chimeric transcription factors has now been implicated in diverse human tumors of myogenic, hematopoietic, neuroectodermal, and adipocytic origin, suggesting that transcriptional deregulation is a common mechanism of tumorigenesis.

Extensive genomic abnormalities in childhood medulloblastoma by comparative genomic hybridization.

We analyzed 27 samples of primary medulloblastoma, using comparative genomic hybridization and a novel statistical approach to evaluate chromosomal regions for significant gain or loss of genomic DNA. An array of nonrandom changes was found in most samples. Two discrete regions of high-level DNA amplification of chromosome bands 5p15.3 and 11q22.3 were observed in 3 of 27 tumors. Nonrandom genomic losses were most frequent in regions on chromosomes 10q (41% of samples), 11 (41%), 16q (37%), 17p (37%), and 8p (33%). Regions of DNA gain most often involved chromosomes 17q (48%) and 7 (44%). These findings suggest a greater degree of genomic imbalance in medulloblastoma than has been recognized previously and highlight chromosomal loci likely to contain oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes that may contribute to the molecular pathogenesis of this tumor.

The alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma PAX3/FKHR fusion protein is a transcriptional activator.

Chimeric transcription factors, created by gene fusions as the result of chromosomal translocations, have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several pathologically disparate solid tumors. The PAX3/FKHR fusion gene, formed by a t(2;13)(q35;q14) in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, encodes a hybrid protein that contains both PAX3 DNA binding domains, the paired box and homeodomain, linked to the bisected DNA binding domain of FKHR, a member of the forkhead family of transcription factors. Here we report that PAX3 and PAX3/FKHR display similar, but not identical transactivation activities when tested with model Pax recognition sequences. No functional role could be ascribed solely to the residual FKHR binding domain present in the fusion protein, but FKHR was found to contribute a strong carboxyl terminal activation domain replacing the one located in the unrearranged PAX3 gene. We show that the native PAX3/FKHR protein present in tumor cells with this translocation has transcriptional characteristics similar to the in vitro expressed protein. The ability of the PAX3/FKHR hybrid protein to bind DNA in a sequence specific manner and to transactivate the expression of artificial reporter genes suggests that its aberrant expression could subvert the transcriptional programs that normally control the growth, differentiation, and survival of primitive myogenic precursors in vivo.

A variant Ewing's sarcoma translocation (7;22) fuses the EWS gene to the ETS gene ETV1.

Most Ewing's sarcomas or related primitive neuroectodermal tumors have the (11;22)(q24;q12) or less frequently the (21;22)(q22;q12) translocation. These rearrangements fuse the EWS gene on chromosome 22q12 to either the FLI1 or ERG genes, both members of the ETS family of transcription factors. Simple variant chromosomal translocations have been occasionally described in these tumors. We have identified a third Ewing's sarcoma translocation, the t(7;22)(p22;q12), that fuses EWS to the human homologue of the murine ETS gene ER81. This gene, designated ETV1 (for ETS Translocation Variant), is located on chromosome band 7p22. Identical EWS nucleotide sequences found in the majority of EWS-FLI1 and EWS-ERG chimeric transcripts are fused to a portion of ETV1 encoding an ETS domain with sequence specific DNA-binding activity. These findings confirm that the fusion of EWS to different ETS family members can result in a similar tumor phenotype.

Synthesis of disulfide-bonded outer membrane proteins during the developmental cycle of Chlamydia psittaci and Chlamydia trachomatis.

The disulfide bond cross-linked major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of the extracellular elementary bodies (EBs) of Chlamydia psittaci was reduced to its monomeric form within 1 h of entry of EBs into host cells by a process which was inhibited by chloramphenicol, while monomeric forms of three cross-linked cysteine-rich proteins could not be detected in Sarkosyl outer membrane complexes at any time in either extracellular or intracellular forms of C. psittaci. Synthesis and incorporation of the MOMP into outer membrane complexes were detected early in the infection cycle (12 h postinfection), while synthesis and incorporation of the cysteine-rich proteins were not observed until reticulate bodies had begun to reorganize into EBs at 20 to 22 h postinfection. By 46 h postinfection, the intracellular population of C. psittaci consisted mainly of EBs, the outer membrane complexes of which were replete with monomeric MOMP and cross-linked cysteine-rich proteins. Upon lysis of infected cells at 46 h, the MOMP was rapidly cross-linked, and infectious EBs were released. The status of the MOMP of intracellular Chlamydia trachomatis was similar to the status of the MOMP of C. psittaci in that the MOMP was largely uncross-linked at 24 and 48 h postinfection, but formed interpeptide disulfide bonds when it was exposed to an extracellular environment late in the developmental cycle. In contrast to C. psittaci, only a fraction of the cross-linked MOMP of infecting EBs of C. trachomatis was reduced by 4 h postinfection, and reduction of the MOMP was not inhibited by chloramphenicol. Exposure of extracellular EBs of C. trachomatis and C. psittaci to dithiothreitol reduced the MOMP but failed to stimulate metabolic activities normally associated with reticulate bodies.

The Pax3-FKHR oncoprotein is unresponsive to the Pax3-associated repressor hDaxx.

The Pax3-FKHR fusion protein is present in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma and results from the t(2;13) (q35;q14) chromosomal translocation. Its oncogenic activity is dependent on a combination of protein-DNA and protein-protein interactions mediated by the Pax3 homeodomain recognition helix. In this report we demonstrate that human Daxx (hDaxx) interacts with Pax3 in vivo and with DNA-bound Pax3 in vitro. This interaction is mediated primarily through the homeodomain recognition helix with the additional involvement of the octapeptide domain and its N-terminal flanking amino acids. Through this interaction hDaxx represses the transcriptional activity of Pax3 by approximately 80%. The Pax3-FKHR fusion is unresponsive to this repressive effect despite an observed endogenous interaction with hDaxx in a rhabdomyosarcoma tumor cell line. Therefore, these data support the model that fusion of FKHR to Pax3 not only adds a strong transactivation domain, but also deregulates transcriptional control of Pax3 by overriding the natural repressive effect of hDaxx.

Multiple genomic alterations including N-myc amplification in a primary large cell medulloblastoma.

The large cell (LC) subtype is a recently described histologic variant of medulloblastoma (Mb) associated with a rapid and aggressive clinical course. We describe the genomic profile of a LC-Mb tumor obtained from a patient who developed recurrent and fulminant disease despite 'good-risk' features at diagnosis and state- of-the-art multidisciplinary therapy. The tumor sample was analyzed using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and complementary molecular approaches. CGH revealed amplicons at chromosome bands 2p24-25, 2q12-22, and 17p11; losses of chromosomes 11q and 18; and low-level gains of 3q, 11p, 13q and 14q. Southern blot analysis confirmed N-myc amplification. No evidence of p53 mutation was detected. The genomic profile of this LC-Mb tumor sample revealed a distinctive pattern of genetic alterations including amplification of N-myc and anonymous oncogenes at chromosome bands 2q12-22 and 17p11. These genomic abnormalities are uncommon in other subtypes of Mb.

The gene for PAX7, a member of the paired-box-containing genes, is localized on human chromosome arm 1p36.

The murine Pax-7 gene and the cognate human gene, formerly designated HuP1, are members of the multigene paired-box-containing class of developmental regulatory genes first identified in Drosophila. By analysis of somatic cell hybrids segregating human chromosomes, the gene encoding PAX7 was localized to human chromosome 1. Fluorescence in situ hybridization confirmed this assignment and allowed mapping of the gene to the terminal region of the short arm (1p36) of the chromosome. Additionally, these results confirm the extensive homology between human chromosome 1p and the distal segment of mouse chromosome 4, extending from bands C5 through E2.

Chromosomal sublocalization of the 2;13 translocation breakpoint in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.

A characteristic balanced reciprocal chromosomal translocation [t(2;13)(q35;q14)] has been identified in more than 50% of alveolar rhabdomyosarcomas. As the first step in characterization of the genes involved in this translocation, we constructed somatic cell hybrids that retained either the derivative chromosome 2 or the derivative chromosome 13 without a normal chromosome 13 homologue. Ten linked DNA probes known to be located within bands 13q13-q14 were mapped relative to the breakpoint on chromosome 13, allowing localization of the breakpoint region between two loci separated by 5.5 cM. A long-range restriction map extending approximately 2,300 kb around these loci failed to provide evidence of rearrangement. Additionally, we confirmed that the FMS-like tyrosine kinase gene (FLT), previously localized to 13q12 by in situ hybridization, is located proximal to the breakpoint, and we demonstrated that FLT is not a target for disruption by this tumor-specific translocation.

Detection of N-myc gene amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Diagnostic utility for neuroblastoma.

We assessed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) as an alternative to Southern blot analysis for determination of N-myc gene amplification in neuroblastoma. In the 44 pediatric solid tumor cell lines examined (20 neuroblastomas), the mean number of N-myc copies determined by FISH correlated closely with Southern blot results. There was wide intercellular variability in gene copy number in tumors that had evidence of amplification; however, tumors judged to be non-amplified completely lacked any cells with high N-myc copy number. FISH provided reliable estimates of N-myc amplification in 12 clinical samples even when the percentage of tumor was low. The other advantages of FISH over Southern blot analysis were speed and technical simplicity, ability to discern heterogeneous gene amplification among tumor cells in the same specimen, and capacity to determine the source of the amplified N-myc signal, whether extrachromosomal double-minute chromosomes, expanded intrachromosomal regions, or chromosome 2 aneuploidy. We conclude that FISH would refine the analysis of N-myc amplification in neuroblastoma and thus improve the assignment of patients to prognostic groups based on this unfavorable risk factor.

Reassignment of the human CSF1 gene to chromosome 1p13-p21.

Human macrophage colony-stimulating factor (CSF-1 or M-CSF) is encoded by a single gene that was previously assigned to the long arm of chromosome 5, band q33.1, in a region adjacent to the gene encoding its receptor (Pettenati MJ, et al, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 84:2970, 1987). Using fluorescence in situ hybridization with genomic probes to examine normal metaphase chromosomes, we reassigned the human CSF1 gene to the short arm of chromosome 1, bands p13-p21. We confirmed this result by hybridizing a CSF1 cDNA probe to filters containing flow-sorted chromosomes and by identifying CSF1 sequences in DNAs extracted from human x rodent somatic cell hybrids that contained human chromosome 1 but not human chromosome 5. Our findings are consistent with studies that have shown tight linkage between the murine CSF1 and amylase genes, as part of a conserved linkage group between mouse chromosome 3 and the short arm of human chromosome 1, which also includes the genes encoding the beta subunits of thyrotropin and nerve growth factor. Assignment of the CSF1 gene to chromosome 1 at bands p13-p21 raises the possibility that it may be altered by certain nonrandom chromosomal abnormalities arising in human hematopoietic malignancies and solid tumors.