GRS, A NOVEL MEMBER OF THE BCL-2 GENE FAMILY, IS HIGHLY EXPRESSED IN MULTIPLE CANCER CELL-LINES AND IN NORMAL LEUKOCYTES

Our laboratory previously described the independent isolation of the f ibroblast growth factor 4 (FGF-4) gene by NIH3T3 transformation assay using DNA from a patient with CML leukemia (Lucas et al., 1994). The F GF-4 gene was truncated by DNA rearrangement with a novel gene named G RS. In this manuscript we describe isolation of GRS cDNA and show by s equence comparison that GRS is a novel member of the Bcl-2 gene family . Northern analysis shows expression of the gene in normal human tissu e to be largely restricted to the hematopoietic compartment. Analysis of the pattern of gene expression in cancer cell lines demonstrates GR S is expressed in hematopoietic malignancies and in melanoma. The chro mosomal location of GRS has also been determined. The gene is position ed on chromosome 15 within bands q24-25.