HRAS1 and INS genes are relocated but not structurally altered as a result of the t(7;11)(p15;p15) in a clone from a patient with acute myeloid leukaemia (M4).

A patient whose leukaemic cells carried the rare t(7;11)(p15;p15) was diagnosed as having acute myelomonocytic leukaemia (AML-M4), and supports the association of this specific translocation with forms of acute myeloid leukaemia showing differentiation. Blast phase chronic myeloid leukaemia was excluded by lack of involvement of the ABL and BCR genes. Chromosome in situ hybridization studies showed that both the HRAS1 and INS genes were present on the terminal part of chromosome 11p which was translocated to chromosome 7p. Neither HRAS1 nor INS were structurally rearranged. Field inversion gel electrophoresis showed that a 400 kb fragment encompassing HRAS1 was structurally entire in leukaemic DNA. Because the INS gene, which was also translocated, is probably located proximal to HRAS1 on chromosome 11p, it is unlikely that HRAS1 was near the chromosome 11 breakpoint or involved in this leukaemia.