Molecular analysis of region t(5;6)(q21;q21) in Wilms tumor

We have previously described the physical localization of a constitutional t(5;6)(q21;q21) in a patient (tumor cell sample designated as MA214) with bilateral Wilms tumor (WT). We have now physically refined the breakpoints and identified putative gene targets within this region. The translocation breakpoints are contained within a 2.5-Mbp region on 5q21 containing four candidate genes and a 1.3-Mbp region on 6q21 that contains three candidate genes. To explore the role of this region in WT genesis, we have performed loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analysis with markers flanking the translocation breakpoints in tumor from MA214 and a panel of sporadic WT. Alleles were retained for all informative markers used in the MA214 tumor. In sporadic tumors LOH was found in 6 of 63 (9.5%) and 5 of 62 (8%) informative cases for flanking markers D6S301 and D6S1592 on 6q21. LOH was found in 3 of 58 (5.2%) and 2 of 54 (3.6%) for flanking markers D5S495 and D5S409 on 5q21. These preliminary data suggest LOH at the t(5;6)(q21;q21) region is unlikely to be a mechanism for tumor development in MA214, but may be important for a subgroup of sporadic WT.