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Abstract

Disclosed is a series of nucleic acid probes for use in diagnosing and monitoring certain types of leukemia using, e.g., Southern and Northern blot analyses and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). These probes detect rearrangements, such as translocations involving chromosome band 11q23 with other chromosomes bands, including 4q21, 6q27, 9p22, 19p13.3, in both dividing leukemic cells and interphase nuclei. The breakpoints in all such translocations are clustered within an 8.3 kb BamHI genomic region of the MLL gene. A novel 0.7 kb BamH1 cDNA fragment derived from this gene detects rearrangements on Southern blot analysis with a single BamHI restriction digest in all patients with the common 11q23 translocations and in patients with other 11q23 anomalies. Northern blot analyses are presented demonstrating that the MLL gene has multiple transcripts and that transcript size differentiates leukemic cells from normal cells. Also disclosed are MLL fusion proteins, MLL protein domains and anti-MLL antibodies.

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