8pII myeloproliferative syndrome with a novel t(7;8) translocation leading to fusion of the FGFRI and TIFI genes

8p11 myeloproliferative syndrome (EMS) is a clinical-pathologic entity characterized by rearrangements involving the FGFR1 gene, which encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase. These rearrangements invariably lead to aberrant fusion proteins in which the kinase activity is constitutively turned on, with resulting oncogenic properties. In this article, we describe a new translocation in EMS, t(7;8)(q34;p11), in which the FGFR1 gene is fused to a previously unidentified partner, the TIFI gene. We show that both the TIFI-FGFR1 and FGFR1-TIFI fusion proteins have the potential to be translated as a result of the translocation. Thus, our data extend the involvement of FGFR1 in EMS and lend support to the concept that there is a precise correlation between genotype and phenotype in this disease. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.