Transposition of the abl proto-oncogene in Philadelphia--negative chronic myeloid leukaemia and acute lymphocytic leukaemia.

Transposition of the abl gene was demonstrated in seven Philadelphia (Ph'-) negative patients with either chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) or acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL) by chromosomal in situ hybridization. In six out of seven CML patients and one out of two ALL patients, a significant accumulation of abl hybridization grains was localized to chromosome 22. Hybridization with both abl and sis resulted in the consistent formation of double hybridization events on chromosome 22. Transposition of abl was not apparent in one patient with Ph'-negative CML and in one patient with Ph'-negative ALL. The data suggest that transposition of abl to chromosome 22 is a feature of a particular subgroup of Ph'-negative leukaemias.