The BCR gene recombines preferentially with Alu elements in complex BCR-ABL translocations of chronic myeloid leukaemia

Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) develops when two genes, BCR on chromosome 22 and ABL on chromosome 9, recombine to form a hybrid BCR-ABL gene with leukaemogenic properties. The mechanism which underlies this recombination is unknown, but additional chromosome sites may be involved to form complex BCR-ABL rearrangements. The majority of breakpoints in BCR occur within a 5 kb major breakpoint cluster region, M-Bcr. Here, we show that the 3' part of M-Bcr recombined within, or immediately adjacent to, Alu elements at the additional sites in all five complex BCR-ABL rearrangements that have been examined so far. This is a new finding which suggests that Alu sequences have an affinity for the BCR-ABL recombination process in complex rearrangements, and provides additional evidence for the association of these elements with somatic rearrangements which cause human leukaemia. We further show that sequence motifs similar to IgH switch pentamers and consensus binding sites of the lymphoid-associated Translin protein are present on one or more participating strands at 3'M-Bcr recombination sites. Motifs similar to Translin-binding sites were also identified within the Alu consensus. Expressed sequences mapped close to the breakpoint sites on other chromosomes in three of the five cases examined.