International Mammalian Genome Society

F13 Evaluation of New Candidate Genes Isolated by Positional Cloning Strategies for the Plasmacytoma Susceptibility/Resistance Gene, Pctr2

Valery Bliskovsky, Edward S. Ramsay, Shuling Zhang, Rebecca Liddell & Beverly A. Mock. National ` Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland

Plasmacytoma development in BALB/c mice is a complex genetic trait. Two genes involved in determining genetic susceptibility reside in regions of mouse chromosome 4 which share linkage homology with the human 1p32-1p36 region, a region of the genome frequently displaying chromosomal abnormalities in a wide variety of human neoplasias. Our studies in congenic strains of mice narrowed the proposed genetic interval harboring the tumor susceptibility locus to a 1-2 cM interval. Sample sequencing of BAC clones which were isolated from the ends of the interval revealed a number of hits with ESTs in the database. Four genes have been isolated and characterized as potential candidates for the Pctr2 locus. Resistant and susceptible strains of mice have been shown to carry different alleles for one of these genes. Functional correlates of allelic variation are now under investigation.