Involvement of a human endogenous retroviral sequence (THE-7) in a t(7;14)(q21;q32) chromosomal translocation associated with a B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Abstract

B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemias (B-CLL) like other blood cell malignancies are characterized by chromosomal anomalies directly involved in tumor pathogenesis. We report here the molecular characterization of a t(7;14)(q21;q32) chromosomal translocation observed during the course of a B-CLL. We show that this translocation led to the juxtaposition of the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus on chromosome 14 to an endogenous retroviral sequence belonging to the THE family (transposable-like human element) on chromosome 7q21. RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that this sequence is transcribed in most of the tumoral and normal tissue analyzed and in the B-CLL described here. These data raise the question of the role of transposable elements in the pathogeny of some leukemias or at least, in the occurrence of chromosomal rearrangements. Structural rearrangements of the 7q21-22 region are frequently encountered in myeloid disorders, and the work presented here could help in their characterization.