Genetic, physical and functional analysis of the ataxia-telangiectasia locus on chromosome 11q22-23

Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is an autosomal recessive multisystem disorder featuring cerebellar degeneration, immunodeficiency, chromosomal instability, cancer susceptibility, and radiosensitivity. Four complementation groups have been observed in A-T. The two major groups, A and C, were localized to chromosome 11q22-23, and the other two, D and E, may map to the same chromosomal region. We developed an integrated system of positional and complementation cloning to identify the A-T gene(s). The A-T region was saturated with microsatellite markers by physically mapping markers generated at random by other labs and by identifying new polymorphic CA-repeats in YAC clones obtained from this region. According to recent linkage data based on these markers and linkage disequilibrium analysis in Moroccan Jewish A-T patients, the A-T(A) and A-T(C) mutations are contained within a 2 Mb interval between D11S1819 and D11S1960. This interval was cloned in YAC and cosmid contigs, and transcribed sequences were identified using the following methods: screening of cDNA libraries using cosmid clones; magnetic bead capture using YAC and cosmid clones; direct selection of cDNA clones using YAC clones immobilized on a solid matrix; and 3{prime} exon trapping. Preliminary results indicate that the A-T region is rich in transcribed sequences. Structural and functional analysis of thesemore » genes is being carried out by sequence analysis, by physical mapping using the cosmid contigs, and by testing their ability to complement the radiomimetic sensitivity of A-T cells.« less