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Mol. Cell. Biol., 08 1996, 4107-4116, Vol 16, No. 8
TR Golub, A Goga, GF Barker, DE Afar, J McLaughlin, SK Bohlander, JD Rowley, ON Witte and DG Gilliland
TEL is a member of the Ets family of transcription factors which are
frequently rearranged in human leukemia. The mechanism of TEL-mediated
transformation, however, is unknown. We report the cloning and
characterization of a chromosomal translocation associated with acute
myeloid leukemia which fuses TEL to the ABL tyrosine kinase. The TEL- ABL
fusion confers growth factor-independent growth to the marine hematopoietic
cell line Ba/F3 and transforms Rat-1 fibroblasts and primary murine bone
marrow cells. TEL-ABL is constitutively tyrosine phosphorylated and
localizes to the cytoskeleton. A TEL-ABL mutant containing an ABL
kinase-inactivating mutation is not constitutively phosphorylated and is
nontransforming but retains cytoskeletal localization. However,
constitutive phosphorylation, cytoskeletal localization, and transformation
are all dependent upon a highly conserved region of TEL termed the
helix-loop-helix (HLH) domain. TEL- ABL formed HLH-dependent homo-oligomers
in vitro, a process critical for tyrosine kinase activation. These
experiments suggest that oligomerization of TEL-ABL mediated by the TEL HLH
domain is required for tyrosine kinase activation, cytoskeletal
localization, and transformation. These data also suggest that
oligomerization of Ets proteins through the highly conserved HLH domain may
represent a previously unrecognized phenomenon.
Copyright © 1996, American Society for Microbiology
Oligomerization of the ABL tyrosine kinase by the Ets protein TEL in human leukemia
Division of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
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