Deregulation of FCGR2B expression by 1q21 rearrangements in follicular lymphomas

We report here the molecular cloning and characterization of a t(1;14)(q21;q32) in a follicular lymphoma (FL) with an unusual BCL2 aberration. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and Southern blot analysis of tumor cells identified the translocation breakpoint within the 5′ switch region of IGHG (Sγ). We cloned the chimeric breakpoint region approximately 1.5 kbp downstream from the HindIII site of 5′Sγ2 on chromosome 14q32 and identified a 360-bp novel segment with homology to the CpG island clone 11h8. Two BAC clones containing this sequence were isolated and mapped to 1q21 by FISH. BAC 342/P13 contained sequences homologous to Fcγ receptors 2A, 3A, 2B, 3B, and a heat shock protein gene HSP70B. The translocation brought the Sγ2 region of a productive IGH allele 20∼30 kbp upstream of FCGR2B. As a result of the translocation, the b2 isoform of FCGR2B was overexpressed in the tumor. Screening of a panel of 76 B-cell lymphomas with 1q21-23 cytogenetic aberrations by Southern blot analysis using breakpoint probes identified an additional FL with a t(14;18)(q32;q21) and a breakpoint in the FCGR2B region. These results suggest that FCGR2B may be deregulated by 1q21 aberration in BCL2 rearranged FLs and possibly play a role in their progression.