Localization of the t(2;13) breakpoint of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma on a physical map of chromosome 2.

A characteristic translocation t(2;13)(q35;q14) has been previously identified in the pediatric soft tissue tumor alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. We have assembled a panel of lymphoblast, fibroblast, and somatic cell hybrid cell lines with deletions and unbalanced translocations involving chromosome 2 to develop a physical map of the distal 2q region. Twenty-two probes were localized on this physical map by Southern blot analysis of the mapping panel. The position of these probes with respect to the t(2;13) rhabdomyosarcoma breakpoint was then determined by quantitative Southern blot analysis of an alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma cell line with two copies of the derivative chromosome 13 and one copy of the derivative chromosome 2 and by analysis of somatic cell hybrid clones derived from an alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma cell line. We demonstrate that the t(2;13) breakpoint is situated within a map interval delimited by the distal deletion breakpoint in fibroblast line GM09892 and the t(X;2) breakpoint in somatic cell hybrid GM11022. Furthermore, from a comparison of our data with the linkage map of the syntenic region on mouse chromosome 1, we conclude that the t(2;13) breakpoint is most closely flanked by loci INHA and ALPI within this map interval.