Chromosomal assignment of the human homologues of feline sarcoma virus and avian myeloblastosis virus onc genes.

Abstract

Retroviral transforming genes, v-onc genes, are derived from normal cellular sequences that are called cellular onc (c-onc) genes. DNA from mouse-human somatic cell hybrids that have selectively lost human chromosomes was used in Southern blots to map the chromosomal location of 2 human onc genes. Cloned human homologs of retroviral onc genes were used as probes. Because the human c-fes gene, which is homologous to feline sarcoma virus, segregates concordantly with human chromosome 15, and the human c-myb gene, which is homologous to avian myeloblastosis virus onc genes, segregates concordantly with human chromosome 6, the c-fes and the c-myb genes were assigned to human chromosomes 15 and 6, respectively. Nonrandom chromosomal defects involving these human chromosomes were observed in neoplasms. These studies should be valuable in determining whether specific rearrangements involving these chromosomes result in the abnormal expression of these onc genes in human malignancies.