Translocation involving the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) locus is a recurring event in B-cell oncogenesis. The aim of this study was to characterize clones from bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries and/or bacteriophage P1 artificial chromosome libraries spanning the IGH locus for detection of illegitimate rearrangement within the region by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). In silico analysis of the IGH variable (IGHV) DNA sequence (NT_001716.v1) was performed to identify BAC probes located within the IGHV cluster. Clones of the constant (IGHC) cluster were found in the literature or at http://www.biologia.uniba.it/rmc/. Validation, orientation, and overlap of these probes were confirmed using interphase-, metaphase-, and fiber-FISH. We have identified seven BAC end-sequenced probes (3087C18, 47P23, 76N15, 12F16, 101G24, 112H5, and 151B17) covering 612 kb of the distal IGHV cluster, which, together with probes covering the IGHC cluster (11771 and 998D24), could be used in interphase nuclei and metaphase chromosome analysis. A visual split of the IGHV and IGHC clusters indicating a translocation was analyzed by dual-color FISH in a series of 21 cell lines of different origins. Translocations were found, as expected, in eight of eight myelomas, four of four lymphomas, none of five leukemias, and none of four Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B-lymphoblastoid cell lines. To summarize, we have established a set of IGHV and IGHC probes that can be used for universal screening of illegitimate rearrangement within the IGH locus in B-cell malignancies. These probes allow for routine FISH analysis to detect this early central oncogenic event.
Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.