Abstract
A common chromosomal abnormality in childhood T-cell acute leukemia is a translocation, t(10;14) (q24;q11), that together with the variant t(7;10)(q35;q24) is present in up to 7% of this tumor type. The gene adjacent to the 10q24 region is transcriptionally activated after translocation to either TCRD (14q11) or TCRB (7q35). It encodes a homeobox gene closely related to the developmentally regulated homeotic genes of flies and mammals. The coding capacity of this activated gene, designated HOX11, is undisturbed in a T-cell line carrying the translocation t(7;10)(q35;q24). Therefore, the HOX11 homeobox gene seems to be involved in T-cell tumorigenesis.