title: Fusion of FIG to the receptor tyrosine kinase ROS in a glioblastoma with an interstitial del(6)(q21q21).
abstract: The transmembrane proto-oncogene receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) ROS is an orphan receptor that is aberrantly expressed in neoplasms of the central nervous system. Here, we report the fusion of its carboxy-terminal kinase domain to the amino-terminal portion of a protein called FIG (Fused in Glioblastoma) in a human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). By characterizing both FIG and ROS genes in normal and in U118MG GBM cells, we determined that an intra-chromosomal homozygous deletion of 240 kilobases on 6q21 is responsible for the formation of the FIG-ROS locus. The FIG-ROS transcript is encoded by 7 FIG exons and 9 ROS-derived exons. We also demonstrate that the FIG-ROS locus encodes for an in-frame fusion protein with a constitutively active kinase activity, suggesting that FIG-ROS may act as an oncogene. This is the first example of a fusion RTK protein that results from an intra-chromosomal deletion, and it represents the first fusion RTK protein isolated from a human astrocytoma.
authors.affiliation: Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA. charest@mit.edu
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Charest
authors.forename: Keara
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McMahon
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Preisinger
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Conroy
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Housman
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D019556:COS Cells; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020134:Catalytic Domain / Q000235:genetics; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D002896:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 6 / Q000235:genetics*; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*; D000077614:Golgi Matrix Proteins; D006801:Humans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D015514:Oncogene Proteins, Fusion / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D016364:Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D002352:Carrier Proteins; C434484:GOPC protein, human; D000077614:Golgi Matrix Proteins; C053330:Golgi membrane glycoproteins; C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D015514:Oncogene Proteins, Fusion; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; C062333:ROS1 protein, human; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases