ABI-1, a human homolog to mouse Abl-interactor 1, fuses the MLL gene in acute myeloid leukemia with t(10;11)(p11.2;q23).

Recurrent translocation t(10;11) has been reported to be associated with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Recently, two types of chimeric transcripts, MLL-AF10 in t(10;11)(p12;q23) and CALM-AF10 in t(10;11)(p13;q14), were isolated. t(10;11) is strongly associated with complex translocations, including invins(10;11) and inv(11)t(10;11), because the direction of transcription of AF10 is telomere to centromere. We analyzed a patient of AML with t(10;11)(p11.2;q23) and identified ABI-1 on chromosome 10p11.2, a human homolog to mouse Abl-interactor 1 (Abi-1), fused with MLL. Whereas the ABI-1 gene bears no homology with the partner genes of MLL previously described, the ABI-1 protein exhibits sequence similarity to protein of homeotic genes, contains several polyproline stretches, and includes a src homology 3 (SH3) domain at the C-terminus that is required for binding to Abl proteins in mouse Abi-1 protein. Recently, e3B1, an eps8 SH3 binding protein 1, was also isolated as a human homolog to mouse Abi-1. Three types of transcripts of ABI-1 gene were expressed in normal peripheral blood. Although e3B1 was considered to be a full-length ABI-1, the MLL-ABI-1 fusion transcript in this patient was formed by an alternatively spliced ABI-1. Others have shown that mouse Abi-1 suppresses v-ABL transforming activity and that e3B1, full-length ABI-1, regulates cell growth. In-frame MLL-ABI-1 fusion transcripts combine the MLL AT-hook motifs and DNA methyltransferase homology region with the homeodomain homologous region, polyproline stretches, and SH3 domain of alternatively spliced transcript of ABI-1. Our results suggest that the ABI-1 gene plays a role in leukemogenesis by translocating to MLL.