B-Cell Translocation Gene 1 (BTG1)

The BTG1 gene locus has been shown to be involved in a t(8;12)(q24;q22) chromosomal translocation in a case of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia. It is a member of a family of antiproliferative genes. BTG1 expression is maximal in the G0/G1 phases of the cell cycle and downregulated when cells progressed through G1. It negatively regulates cell proliferation. This sequence detected a 1.8-kb transcript in virtually all tissues tested except in the brain and muscle where the signal was barely detectable. The putative gene corresponding to this sequence, termed BTG1 for B-cell translocation gene 1, was shown to be highly conserved in evolution; a similar 1.8-kb transcript could be detected in murine and chicken tissue by using a human BTG1 DNA probe.