Furthermore our data show that although inactivation of MTS1 by deletion is common, inactivation of MTS2 by a combination of deletion and hypermethylation is more frequent in both B-ALL (20/29, 69%) and T-ALL (17/17, 100%).
We analyzed homozygous deletions and mutations of the CDKN2(p16(INK4A)/MTS1) gene, using polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot analysis, in 120 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
The genes p16 (or MTS1) and TEL/AML1 are now respectively recognized as the most common tumor suppressor and fusion genes in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Homozygous MTS2 deletions were observed in 16 of 24 T-ALL cases and in 1 of 31 B-lineage ALLs (P < .001), all of them displaying homozygous MTS1 deletions.