A RECIPROCAL TRANSLOCATION (1-15) (36.2-Q24) IN A NEUROBLASTOMA CELL-LINE IS ACCOMPANIED BY DNA DUPLICATION AND MAY SIGNAL THE SITE OF A PUTATIVE TUMOR SUPPRESSOR-GENE

Cytogenetic analyses and molecular deletion studies of human neuroblas tomas have indicated the chromosomal bands 1p36.1-1p36.2 as a location of genetic information which may be involved in tumorigenesis. To def ine this putative neuroblastoma locus in more detail we have analysed cell lines with alterations of distal Ip, Here we show, by fluorescenc e in situ hybridization (FISH), that cell line NGP has a reciprocal 1; 15 translocation. Loci D1S214/D1S96 could be shown to map telomeric/di stal, D1S228 centromeric/proximal to the break, We have identified yea st artificial chromosomes (YACs) that cover the break and map to D1S16 0 and D1S244. This chromosomal position is within the smallest region of overlap (SRO) found in neuroblastoma tumors (Weith et al., 1989; Ca ron et al., 1993; Schleiermacher ct al., 1994) and within the region o f a constitutional interstitial deletion of a neuroblastoma patient (B iegel et al., 1993). Mapping studies with FISH revealed that the trans location is associated with duplication of DNA. It appears, as if the subchromosomal region we describe here is a good candidate for harbori ng the postulated neuroblastoma suppressor-gene.