REGIONAL LOCALIZATION OF THE HUMAN INTEGRIN BETA(6) GENE (ITGB6) TO CHROMOSOME 2Q24-Q31

The heterodimer alpha(v) beta(6) acts as a fibronectin receptor for hu man carcinoma cells. We report here the regional localization of the b eta(6) gene to 2q24-q31 by fluorescence in situ hybridization coupled with GTG-banding. This gene is located close to the region to which ge nes coding for the cu subunits of the integrins VLA-4 and vitronectin receptor (ITGA4 and ITGAV, respectively) have been previously mapped ( 2q31-q32). These data suggest a proximal position of the integrin beta (6) locus (ITGB6) on this integrin gene cluster. Furthermore, double-l abeling in situ hybridization experiments performed with alpha(4) and alpha(v) probes indicated a telomeric position of ITGAV with respect t o ITGA4. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.