| First Author | McWhirter JR | Year | 1999 |
| Journal | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A | Volume | 96 |
| Issue | 20 | Pages | 11464-9 |
| PubMed ID | 10500199 | Mgi Jnum | J:57926 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1346203 | Doi | 10.1073/pnas.96.20.11464 |
| Citation | McWhirter JR, et al. (1999) Oncogenic homeodomain transcription factor E2A-Pbx1 activates a novel WNT gene in pre-B acute lymphoblastoid leukemia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 96(20):11464-9 |
| abstractText | A large fraction of pediatric pre-B acute lymphoblastoid leukemias (ALL) consistently contain a t(1;19) chromosomal translocation. The t(1;19) translocation results in the production of a chimeric transcription factor containing the N-terminal transactivation domain of E2A fused to the C-terminal DNA-binding homeodomain of Pbx1. Here, we show that the E2A-Pbx1 fusion protein activates the expression of a novel WNT gene, WNT-16. WNT-16 normally is expressed in peripheral lymphoid organs such as spleen, appendix, and lymph nodes, but not in bone marrow. In contrast, high levels of WNT-16 transcripts are present in bone marrow and cell lines derived from pre-B ALL patients carrying the E2A-Pbx1 hybrid gene. Inhibition of E2A-Pbx1 expression leads to a significant decrease in WNT-16 mRNA levels, suggesting that WNT-16 is a downstream target of E2A-Pbx1. Three putative WNT receptors, FZ-2, FZ-3, and FZ-5, are expressed in cells of the B lineage, including pre-B ALL cells aberrantly expressing WNT-16. We propose that a WNT-16-mediated autocrine growth mechanism contributes to the development of t(1;19) pre-B ALL. |
