Novel cryptic chromosomal rearrangements in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia detected by multiple color fluorescent in situ hybridization.
OBJECTIVE
It is often difficult to obtain good karyotypes of cells from children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) because of poor morphology and spreading. Detailed karyotyping can be further hampered by the presence of multiple rearrangements. Our objective was to search for cryptic rearrangements in childhood ALL.


METHODS
A series of eight cases of childhood ALL with at least two structural defects were selected and studied by multiple color fluorescent in situ hybridization (M-FISH).


RESULTS
Four previously not reported translocations were detected: a t(14;20) (q32;q11.2) in a 3-year old girl with T-ALL, a cryptic t(7;11)(q35;q24) in association with a t(1;14)(p32;q32) in a patient with T-ALL and two translocations possibly involving the same 6q26 region on the distal end of the long arm of chromosome 6. Further FISH analysis on the t(7;11) indicated rearrangement of the TCRB locus at 7q35 suggesting that this t(7;11) leads to overexpression of an as yet unidentified gene at 11q24. This observation also triggered further screening for TCRB rearrangements in T-ALL. FISH analysis of the t(14;20) with an IGH locus-specific probe provided evidence for an unusual rearrangement of the IGH gene, in the variable gene segment region. Finally, we also observed cryptic insertions of AF4 and ETV6 in combination with complex rearrangements, leading to MLL/AF4 and ETV6/RUNX1 gene fusions.


CONCLUSIONS
This study underscores the importance and power of M-FISH analysis in unraveling complex karyotypes and identifying cryptic chromosomal rearrangements. It also sheds some light on the implication of cryptic TCRB rearrangements in T-ALL.
Poppe
Bruce
B
Center for Medical Genetics, University Hospital Ghent, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Cauwelier
Barbara
B
Van Limbergen
Heidi
H
Yigit
Nurten
N
Philippé
Jan
J
Verhasselt
Bruno
B
De Paepe
Anne
A
Benoit
Yves
Y
Speleman
Frank
F
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D007621:Karyotyping / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000235:genetics*; D014178:Translocation, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*