GPHN, a novel partner gene fused to MLL in a leukemia with t(11;14)(q23;q24)

We report a novel MLL-associated chromosome translocation t(11;14)(q23;q24) in a child who showed signs of acute undifferentiated leukemia 3 years after intensive chemotherapy, that included the topoisomerase-II inhibitor VP 16. Screening of a cDNA library of the patient's leukemic cells showed a novel fusion transcript between MLL and the Gephyrin (GPHN) gene on 14q24. The resulting MLL-GPHN fusion gene encodes MLL AT hook motifs and a DNA methyltransferase homology domain fused to the C-terminal half of Gephyrin, including a presumed tubulin binding site and a domain homologous to the Escherichia coli molybdenum cofactor biosynthesis protein MoeA. Genomic breakpoint analysis showed potential, in vitro topoisomerase-II DNA-binding sites spanning the breakpoints in both MLL and GPHN but no flanking sequences that might mediate homologous recombination. This suggests that MLL-GPHN may have been generated by VP 16/topoisomerase-II-induced DNA double-strand breaks, followed by error-prone DNA repair via non-homologous end joining. Gephyrin was originally identified as a submembraneous scaffold protein that anchors and immobilizes postsynaptic membrane neurotransmitter receptors to underlying cytoskeletal elements. It also is reported to bind to phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate binding proteins involved in actin dynamics and downstream signaling and, interacts with ATM-related family member RAFTI. Gephyrin domains in the chimeric protein therefore could contribute novel signal sequences or might modify MLL activity by oligomerization or intracellular redistribution. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.