THE T(6-16)(P21-Q22) CHROMOSOME-TRANSLOCATION IN THE LNCAP PROSTATE CARCINOMA CELL-LINE RESULTS IN A TPC HPR FUSION GENE/

Very little is known about the molecular and genetic mechanisms involv ed in prostate cancer. Previous studies have shown frequent loss of he terozygosity (40%) at chromosomal regions 8p, 10q, and 16q, suggesting the presence of tumor suppressor genes in these regions. The LNCaP ce ll line, established from a metastatic lesion of human prostatic adeno carcinoma, carries a t(6;16)(p21;q22) translocation. To determine whet her this translocation involved genes important in the process of mali gnant transformation, me cloned and sequenced the t(6;16) breakpoint o f this cell line. Sequence analysis showed that the breakpoint is with in the haptoglohin gene cluster on chromosome 16, and that, on chromos ome 6, the break occurs within a novel gene, tpc, similar to the proka ryotic S10 ribosomal protein gene. The translocation results in the pr oduction of a fusion transcript, tpc/hpr.