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Molecular Genetic Analysis of Human Lymphoid Neoplasms
Immunoglobulin Genes and the c-myc Oncogene
- THOMAS A. WALDMANN, M.D.;
- STANLEY J. KORSMEYER, M.D.;
- AJAY BAKHSHI, M.D.;
- ANDREW ARNOLD, M.D.; and
- ILAN R. KIRSCH, M.D.
Abstract
Immunoglobulin genes responsible for individual antibodies are organized as discontinuous DNA segments in their germline form. As an uncommitted stem cell develops into an antibody-synthesizing plasma cell, rearrangements of these immunoglobulin gene segments serve to activate the genes and to generate the virtually unlimited capacity to synthesize antibodies that recognize potential antigens. The analysis of immunoglobulin gene structure and arrangement has been of immense value in the study of human lymphoid neoplasms. Recombinant DNA technology involving analysis of immunoglobulin gene arrangement has been used to classify neoplasms of previously uncertain lineage, aid in the diagnosis of neoplasms of the B-cell series, and define the state of differentiation of neoplastic B-cell precursors. Furthermore, the demonstration of translocation of a particular transforming gene, the c-myc oncogene, into the immunoglobulin gene locus in Burkitt's lymphoma has provided a major insight into the cause of malignant transformation of these lymphoid cells.
Article and Author Information
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▸An edited transcription of a Combined Clinical Staff Conference held on 15 November 1983 at the Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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▸Authors who wish to cite a section of the conference and specifically indicate its author can use this example for the form of reference:
KORSMEYER SJ. Hierarchy of immunoglobulin gene rearrangements in B-cell leukemias, pp 499-502. In: WALDMANN TA, moderator. Molecular genetic analyses of human lymphoid neoplasms: immunoglobulin genes and the c-myc oncogene. Ann Intern Med. 1985;102:497-510.
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▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to Thomas A. Waldmann, M.D.; National Cancer Institute, Building 10, Room 4M114, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD 20205.
