Structure and refinement of the physical mapping of the γ-glutamylcysteine ligase regulatory subunit (GLCLR) gene to chromosome 1p22.1 within the critically deleted region of human malignant mesothelioma

Glutathione is a ubiquitous antioxidant in mammalian tissues. The first step of its synthesis is catalyzed by the glutamate-cysteine ligase (GLCL) which consists of a heavy, catalytic subunit and a light, regulatory subunit (GLCLR). Previous genetic analyses have revealed frequent losses of chromosome 1p22-->p21 in human malignant mesothelioma and the shortest region of overlapping deletions has been narrowed between the two loci D1S435 and D1S236. An expressed sequence tag of the GLCLR gene was found within a YAC contig encompassing the same interval and was therefore considered as a good candidate gene for predisposition to human mesothelioma. We report here the characterization of the genomic structure of the GLCLR gene and refine its physical mapping to chromosome 1p22.1.