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Query: UMLS:C0023418 (leukemia)
 93,477 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A chromosomal translocation, t(4;11)-(q21;q23), is associated with an aggressive mixed-lineage leukemia. A yeast artificial chromosome was used to clone the chromosomal breakpoint of this translocation in the RS4;11 cell line. The breakpoint sequences revealed an inverted repeat bordered by a consensus site for topoisomerase II binding and cleavage as well as chi-like elements. The der(11) chromosome encodes a fusion RNA and predicted chimeric protein between the 11q23 gene MLL and a 4q21 gene designated AF4. The sequence of the complete open reading frame for this fusion transcript reveals the MLL protein to have homology with DNA methyltransferase, the Drosophila trithorax gene product, and the "AT-hook" motif of high-mobility-group proteins. An alternative splice that deletes the AT-hook region of MLL was identified. AF4 is a serine- and proline-rich putative transcription factor with a glutamine-rich carboxyl terminus. The composition of the complete MLL-AF4 fusion product argues that it may act through either a gain-of-function or a dominant negative mechanism in leukemogenesis.
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PMID:Acute mixed-lineage leukemia t(4;11)(q21;q23) generates an MLL-AF4 fusion product. 768 31

Translocations involving chromosome band 11q23, found in acute lymphoid and myeloid leukemias, disrupt the MLL gene. This gene encodes a putative transcription factor with homology to the zinc fingers and other domains of the Drosophila trithorax gene product and to the "AT-hook" motif of high mobility group proteins. To map potential transcriptional activation or repression domains of the MLL protein, yeast GAL4 DNA-binding domain and MLL hybrid protein-expressing plasmids were cotransfected with chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter plasmids in a transient transfection system. We found that MLL contains a strong activation domain and a repression domain. The former, located telomeric (3') to the breakpoint region, activated transcription 18-fold to > 200-fold, depending on the promoter and cell line used for transfection. A repression domain that repressed transcription 4-fold was located centromeric (5') to the breakpoint region of MLL. The MLL AT-hook domain protein was expressed in bacteria and was utilized in a gel mobility shift assay to assess DNA-binding activity. The MLL AT-hook domain could bind cruciform DNA, recognizing structure rather than sequence of the target DNA. In translocations involving MLL, loss of an activation domain with retention of a repression domain and a DNA-binding domain on the der(11) chromosome could alter the expression of downstream target genes, suggesting a potential mechanism of action for MLL in leukemia.
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PMID:11q23 translocations split the "AT-hook" cruciform DNA-binding region and the transcriptional repression domain from the activation domain of the mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) gene. 793

Translocations involving chromosome band 11q23, found in acute lymphoid and myeloid leukemias, disrupt the MLL gene. This gene encodes a putative transcription factor with regions of homology to several other proteins including the zinc fingers and other domains of the Drosophila trithorax gene product, and the "AT-hook" DNA-binding motif of high mobility group proteins. We have previously demonstrated that MLL contains transcriptional activation and repression domains using a GAL4 fusion protein system (21). The repression domain, which is capable of repressing transcription 3-5-fold, is located centromeric to the breakpoint region of MLL. The activation domain, located telomeric to the breakpoint region, activated transcription from a variety of promoters including ones containing only basal promoter elements. The level of activation was very high, ranging from 10-fold to more than 300-fold, depending on the promoter and cell line used for transient transfection. In translocations involving MLL, the protein produced from the der(11) chromosome which contains the critical junction for leukemogenesis includes the AT-hook domain and the repression domain. We assessed the DNA binding capability of the MLL AT-hook domain using bacterially expressed and purified AT-hook protein. In a gel mobility shift assay, the MLL AT-hook domain could bind cruciform DNA, recognizing structure rather than sequence of the target DNA. This binding could be specifically competed with Hoechst 33258 dye and with distamycin. In a nitrocellulose protein-DNA binding assay, the MLL AT-hook domain could bind to AT-rich SARs, but not to non-SAR DNA fragments. The role that the AT-hook binding to DNA may play in vivo is unclear, but it is likely that DNA binding could affect downstream gene regulation. The AT-hook domain retained on the der(11) would potentially recognize a different DNA target than the one normally recognized by the intact MLL protein. Furthermore, loss of an activation domain while retaining a repression domain on the der(11) chromosome could alter the expression of various downstream target genes, suggesting potential mechanisms of action for MLL in leukemia.
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PMID:The mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) protein involved in 11q23 translocations contains a domain that binds cruciform DNA and scaffold attachment region (SAR) DNA. 858 57

11q23 chromosome aberrations are frequently observed in infantile as well as therapy-related leukemias. The target gene at 11q23, MLL, is disrupted by the translocation and becomes fused to various translocation partner genes such as AF4/FEL, LTG9/AF9 and LTG19/ENL. The resulting chimeric mRNAs are fused in frame and have been predicted to encode leukemia-specific chimeric proteins. In the present study, we raised antibodies against MLL, LTG9 and LTG19 and demonstrated that MLL and chimeric MLL-LTG9 and MLL-LTG19 products are synthesized in vivo and are localized in the nuclei, using immunofluorescence and cell fractionation studies. The truncated N-terminal portion of the MLL product common to the various types of 11q23 translocation was also localized in the nuclei in a similar fashion. Murine 32Dc13 cells stably expressing the truncated N-terminal MLL protein exhibited an inhibition of differentiation and a growth advantage following stimulation by granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, although the IL-3 dependency was not significantly changed in comparison to the parental cells. These results suggest that the N-terminal portion common to various MLL-chimeric products plays an important role in leukemogenesis.
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PMID:Identification of MLL and chimeric MLL gene products involved in 11q23 translocation and possible mechanisms of leukemogenesis by MLL truncation. 893 41

The involvement of 11q23-balanced translocations in acute leukemia after treatment with drugs that inhibit the function of DNA topoisomerase II (topo II) is being recognized with increasing frequency. We and others have shown that the gene at 11q23 that is involved in all of these treatment-related leukemias is MLL (also called ALL1, Htrx, and HRX). In general, the translocations in these leukemias are the same as those occurring in de novo leukemia [eg, t(9;11), t(11;19), and t(4;11)], with the treatment-related leukemias accounting for no more than 5% to 10% of any particular translocation type. We have cloned the t(11;16)(q23;p13.3) and have shown that it involves MLL and CBP (CREB binding protein). The CBP gene was recently identified as a partner gene in the t(8;16) that occurs in acute myelomonocytic leukemia (AML-M4) de novo and rarely in treatment-related acute myeloid leukemia. We have studied eight t(11;16) patients, all of whom had prior therapy with drugs targetting topo II with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using a probe for MLL and a cosmid contig covering the CBP gene. Both probes were split in all eight patients and the two derivative (der) chromosomes were each labeled with both probes. Use of an approximately 100-kb PAC located at the breakpoint of chromosome 16 from one patient revealed some variability in the breakpoint because it was on the der(16) in three patients, on the der(11) in another, and split in four others. We assume that the critical fusion gene is 5'MLL/3'CBP. Our series of patients is unusual because three of them presented with a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) most similar to chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMMoL) and one other had dyserythropoiesis; MDS is rarely seen in 11q23 translocations either de novo or with t-AML. Using FISH and these same probes to analyze the lineage of bone marrow cells from one patient with CMMoL, we showed that all the mature monocytes contained the fusion genes as did some of the granulocytes and erythroblasts; none of the lymphocytes contained the fusion gene. The function of MLL is not well understood, but many domains could target the MLL protein to particular chromatin complexes. CBP is an adapter protein that is involved in regulating transcription. It is also involved in histone acetylation, which is thought to contribute to an increased level of gene expression. The fusion gene could alter the CBP protein such that it is constitutively active; alternatively, it could modify the chromatin-association functions of MLL.
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PMID:All patients with the T(11;16)(q23;p13.3) that involves MLL and CBP have treatment-related hematologic disorders. 922 52

The MLL gene is interrupted and fused to a number of partner genes as a result of chromosomal translocations in human leukemias. MLL is a very large protein with a unique domain structure and large regions of homology to Drosophila trx. To define the key structural and functional domains of the MLL protein in vertebrates, we have cloned the genomic region encoding an MLL-like gene in the compact model vertebrate genome of Fugu rubripes. While the similarity between the mouse and human MLL proteins is very high, a lower overall similarity is present between the Fugu and mammalian proteins. Several new highly conserved regions were identified in the portion of the protein included in the MLL leukemia-associated fusion proteins. The conserved nature of regions of similarity between vertebrate forms of MLL and the Drosophila TRX proteins, as well as other domains previously suggested to have a functional role in MLL (including the AT hooks and the DNA methyltransferase domain), was also observed. Therefore, strong evolutionary constraints limited sequence divergence within these domains. The information derived from this comparative analysis will form the basis for the functional study of the MLL protein, particularly as it relates to human leukemogenesis.
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PMID:Isolation and characterization of a pufferfish MLL (mixed lineage leukemia)-like gene (fMll) reveals evolutionary conservation in vertebrate genes related to Drosophila trithorax. 968 21

Translocations affecting the chromosomal locus 11q23 are hallmarks of infant leukemias. These events disrupt the MLL gene (also ALL-1 or HRX) and fuse the MLL amino terminus in frame with a variety of unrelated proteins. The ENL gene on 19p13.1 is a recurrent fusion partner of MLL. Whereas potential functions have been suggested for isolated domains of either MLL or ENL no experimental data exist for the biological properties of the complete chimeric MLL-ENL protein. We show here that the fusion of MLL with ENL creates a novel molecule that is a potent general transcriptional transactivator in transient reporter gene assays. MLL-ENL strongly transactivated several unrelated promoters including the promoter of Hoxa7 a potential target gene for the unaltered MLL protein. This transactivation capability was cell type specific and it was critically dependent on the contributions of the methyltransferase-homology (MT) region of MLL in combination with the C-terminus of ENL. Squelching experiments and gel retardation studies identified the ENL C-terminus as a binding partner for an unknown factor and the MLL MT region as a unique general DNA binding motif. The potential implications of these findings for the leukemogenesis by MLL-ENL are discussed.
Leukemia 1999 Oct
PMID:The leukemogenic fusion of MLL with ENL creates a novel transcriptional transactivator. 1051 53

More than 20 different partner genes with MLL have been cloned from leukemia cells with translocations involving chromosome 11 band q23 (11q23). All reported partner genes fused in-frame to MLL and the fusion cDNA encode chimeric MLL proteins with a significant portion derived from the partner genes. We analyzed one patient with de novo acute monoblastic leukemia with t(11;14)(q23;q24) and identified that a human homologue of gephyrin (human gephyrin) fused with MLL. Gephyrin is a rat glycine receptor-associated protein, which forms submembranous complexes and anchor glycine or gamma-aminobutyric acidA receptors to microtubules. Alternative splicing of human gephyrin gene created two different forms of fusion cDNA. In one form, human gephyrin gene fused in-frame to MLL exon 9, and the chimeric product had COOH terminus of human gephyrin protein, including the tubulin binding site. In the other, the reading frame terminated shortly after the fusion point. As a result, only seven amino acids with no known function were attached to the NH2 terminus of MLL protein. The functional significance of this de facto truncated MLL gene product is not clear.
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PMID:t(11;14)(q23;q24) generates an MLL-human gephyrin fusion gene along with a de facto truncated MLL in acute monoblastic leukemia. 1128 45

The PHD fingers of the human MLL and Drosophila trx proteins have strong amino acid sequence conservation but their function is unknown. We have determined that these fingers mediate homodimerization and binding of MLL to Cyp33, a nuclear cyclophilin. These two proteins interact in vitro and in vivo in mammalian cells and colocalize at specific nuclear subdomains. Overexpression of the Cyp33 protein in leukemia cells results in altered expression of HOX genes that are targets for regulation by MLL. These alterations are suppressed by cyclosporine and are not observed in cell lines that express a mutant MLL protein without PHD fingers. These results suggest that binding of Cyp33 to MLL modulates its effects on the expression of target genes.
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PMID:Protein interactions of the MLL PHD fingers modulate MLL target gene regulation in human cells. 1131 84

The MLL (HRX, ALL-1 HTRX) gene at chromosome band 11q23 frequently is rearranged in acute lymphoblastic and myeloblastic leukemia. To date, more than 40 different 11q23 abnormalities have been described on the cytogenetic level, and at least 25 of the respective fusion partner genes are cloned. The vast majority of the respective reciprocal translocations generate a chimeric 5'-MLL/partner-3' gene on the derivative 11q23. In this work, we report a unique ins(X;11)(q24;q23) in an infant with acute myeloid leukemia (AML-M2) that fuses the human KIAA0128 gene at Xq24 with MLL. In contrast to the typical reciprocal MLL translocations, however, we provide evidence that the 5'-MLL/KIAA0128-3' fusion resides on Xq24 rather than on 11q23. The KIAA0128 gene encodes the human Septin 6 protein, which contains an ATP-GTP binding motif and three nuclear targeting sequences in its carboxy terminus. The maintenance of the reading frame of the 5'-MLL/KIAA0128-3' mRNA fusion allows for the formation of a novel chimeric protein. Septin 6 is the third member of the Septins that is fused to the MLL protein; the other two are hCDCrel at 22q11 and MSF at 17q25.
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PMID:An ins(X;11)(q24;q23) fuses the MLL and the Septin 6/KIAA0128 gene in an infant with AML-M2. 1147 64


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