title: T-cell receptor beta chain gene rearrangement in acute myeloid leukemia always occurs at the allele that contains the undermethylated J beta 1 region.
abstract: The epigenetic phenomenon could play a role in the interaction between chromatin and DNA-binding enzymes, allowing us to consider an association between the phenomenon and gene rearrangement. The correlation between methylation status and rearrangement of the T-cell receptor (TCR) beta chain gene in leukemia cells obtained from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was examined. All of the AML patients with a TCR-beta rearrangement had hypomethylated CCGG sequences within the J beta 1 region on the rearranged allele, while the germline allele had completely methylated CCmeGG sequence in this region, indicating a strong association between hypomethylation status and rearrangement of the TCR beta chain gene. In the DNA from AML patients with or without a TCR-beta rearrangement, the C beta 2 region contained completely methylated CCmeGG sequences, even though they express T-cell-associated antigens, including CD7; this pattern is quite different from that observed in T-cell neoplasias. Moreover, some AML patients showed a TCR-beta rearrangement without the presence of immunoglobulin heavy-chain gene rearrangement, suggesting that TCR beta chain gene involvement in AML is required for unknown factors other than common recombinase activity.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Medical College, Japan.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ohyashiki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohyashiki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawakubo
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tauchi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakazawa
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toyama
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000483:Alleles; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D015333:Gene Rearrangement, beta-Chain T-Cell Antigen Receptor / Q000235:genetics*; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008745:Methylation; D008875:Middle Aged; D015183:Restriction Mapping
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm