Deleted In Lymphocytic Leukemia 1 (DLEU1)

DLEU1 is only a small portion of a large gene, which they designated B-cell neoplasia-associated gene with multiple splicing (BCMS), that spans all critical subregions for BCLL, including the distal subregion. They found that the gene is expressed in more than 20 RNA splicing variants. While tissue-specific expression of RNA variants was observed, there was no evidence for the expression of a variant specific for BCLL. Loss of chromosome 13q14 is a frequent cytogenetic change in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia, suggesting the presence of a putative tumor suppressor gene at this locus. The DLEU1 gene encodes a deduced 72-amino acid protein. Northern blot analysis revealed expression of a 1.1-kb transcript, with strong expression in testis, thymus, and small intestine and lower expression in prostate, spleen, peripheral blood lymphocytes, and ovary.