EXPRESSION AND STRUCTURE OF HOX GENES IN WILMS-TUMOR

We have investigated the expression of all 38 human HOX genes in Wilms ' tumour (WT) tissue, and the structure of the HOXA cluster (at chromo some 7p15) in a WT patient who has a novel constitutional chromosome t ranslocation (t(1;7)(q42;p15)). No rearrangement of the HOXA genes was found in the translocation patient, but between 26 and 28 HOX genes w ere expressed in WT tissue. Thus, although it appears unlikely that HO X genes are mutated in WT, their extensive expression in WT indicates that HOX genes may well be important factors in the aberrant different iation which leads to Wilms' tumour.