Characterization of gene expression, genomic structure, and chromosomal localization of Hells (Lsh)

Hells (Lsh) is a lymphoid-specific presumptive helicase with highest expres sion in lymphoid precursor cells, Other members of the helicase family part icipate in maintenance of genome stability, DNA repair, and transcriptional control. Here we report the structure and chromosomal location of the Hell s gene. The open reading frame of the murine Hells gene spans at least 26.6 kb of chromosomal DNA and is composed of 18 exons. The genomic structure o f the seven helicase domains closely resembles that of mammalian Rad54, a g ene whose product appears to be involved in recombination and double-strand break repair. The human homologue, the HELLS gene, has a mRNA expression p attern that is similar to murine Hells expression. Low-stringency hybridiza tion in a Southern analysis reveals homologous Hells genes in a variety of species including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, FISH analysis maps the murine H ells gene to region C3-D1 on chromosome 19, The human homologue maps to a r egion of synteny on chromosome 10q23-q24, a breakpoint region frequently in volved in human leukemia. (C) 1998 Academic Press.