Duplication of Subcytoband 11E2 of Chromosome 11 Is Regularly Associated with Accelerated Tumor Development in v-abl/myc–Induced Mouse Plasmacytomas

Chromosome 11 aberrations constitute the second most frequent chromosomal aberration in mouse plasmacytomas (PCTs) in which both the myc and abl oncogenes are constitutively expressed. In these tumors, previous G-banding studies had revealed numerical aberrations including duplication of the entire chromosome 11 or segments of telomeric bands D and E. The trisomy of chromosome 11 was always associated with accelerated pristane + v-abl/myc–induced PCT development. In the present study, PCT development was studied in a unique BALB/c congenic mouse strain, (T38HxBALB/c) F1, carrying a reciprocal translocation between chromosomes X and 11. After v-abl/myc induction, PCTs in this strain had acquired a nonrandom duplication of subcytoband 11E2. This duplication was always associated with accelerated PCT development. Corresponding synteny regions in the human and rat are changed in many tumors and involved in duplication, amplification, or translocation events. Thus, together with these synteny data, our findings strongly suggest a causal involvement of 11E2 in the acceleration of v-abl/myc–induced PCTs.