c-myc and immunoglobulin kappa light chain constant genes are on the 8q+ chromosome of three Burkitt lymphoma lines with t(2;8) translocations.

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Abstract
We have determined the localization of c‐myc and the immunoglobulin kappa light chain genes on the 8q+/2p‐ chromosomes of the three Burkitt lymphoma lines BL21, LY66 and LY91 with t(2;8) translocation by in situ hybridization. BL21 is characterized by a complex translocation in which a piece of chromosome 9 appears to be located between the fragments of chromosome 8 and 2 on the 8q+ chromosome. Our data indicate that in all three cell lines the c‐myc gene is located on the 8q+ chromosome proximal to the breakpoint in band 8q24. In all cell lines examined the cluster of kappa variable genes has remained on the 2p‐ chromosome. In LY91 cells the major part of the joining region remained on 2p‐, while the joining region has moved to 8q+ in the cell lines BL21 and LY66. In all three cell lines the constant kappa light chain gene was found on the 8q+ chromosome. The fact that an essentially identical pattern was found in the cell line BL21, with the complex translocation, suggests that the insertion of the piece of chromosome 9 into the 8q+ chromosome might be a secondary event. Our present data fit into the concept that in all Burkitt lymphoma lines investigated so far, including cases with t(8;14) and the variant translocations t(2;8) and t(8;22), the c‐myc gene becomes situated at the 5′ side of an immunoglobulin constant gene. This may have implications for the generation of somatic mutations in the coding and non‐coding part of the c‐myc gene.