IDENTIFICATION OF A YEAST ARTIFICIAL CHROMOSOME THAT SPANS THE HUMAN PAPILLARY RENAL-CELL CARCINOMA-ASSOCIATED T(X1) BREAKPOINT IN XP11.2

Recently, a specific chromosome abnormality, t(X;l)(pll;q21), was desc ribed for a subgroup of human papillary renal cell carcinomas. The tra nslocation breakpoint in Xp11. is located in the same region as that i n t(X;18)(pll;q11)-positive synovial sarcoma.:We used fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and somatic cell hybridization techniques to demonstrate 1) that the Xp11 translocation breakpoint in papillary re nal cell carcinoma differs from that observed in synovial sarcoma and has a more proximal location, and 2) that an ornithine aminotransferas e (OAT)L2 containing yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) spans the X;1 t ranslocation. This YAC provides an ideal starting point from which the breakpoint itself and the gene(s) involved can be isolated and charac terized.