Chimeric transcripts with an open reading frame are generated as a result of translocation to the Pvt-1 region in mouse B-cell tumors.

Some mouse plasmacytomas exhibit a t(6;15) chromosomal translocation in which the breakpoint resides within the Pvt-1 locus located 260 kilobases (kb) downstream of c-myc on mouse chromosome 15. In this report, we show that the Pvt-1 locus does not exhibit allelic exclusion in that Pvt-1 transcripts continue to be expressed from the non-translocated allele in t(6;15) plasmacytomas. From the translocated allele, we find chimeric transcripts containing a short 57-bp segment of Pvt-1 (termed Pvt-1a) spliced directly to the immunoglobulin constant region sequence (Ig-Ck). These short transcripts have replaced a Jk segment with a trytophan residue via RNA splicing and contain a continuous open reading frame (ORF) from Pvt-1a through Ck. Since this Pvt-1a/Ck transcript is found in all 3 t(6;15) plasmacytomas examined, regardless of the location of the chromosomal breakpoint, we suggest that the Pvt-1a/Ck chimera may have a functional role in the development of mouse plasmacytomas.