Molecular and Functional Characterization Of The Novel Protein-Coding Gene Tihl (Translocated in Hodgkin's Lymphoma)in Hematopoiesis

Cell cycling is a tightly regulated process involving the structured expression modulation of various regulatory genes. This process is crucial for the maintenance of cell survival/proliferation in both normal and malignant hematopoietic cells. We have previously described the highly expressed CIITA-BX648577 gene fusion (Steidl C. et al., Nature 2011), involving the novel gene locus BX648577/FLJ27352 /hypothetical LOC 145788/C15orf65 and the Class II Transactivator (CIITA) in the Hodgkin's lymphoma cell line KM-H2. While CIITA is well known to be involved in the regulation of immune responses, specifically through regulation of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC)-II, nothing is known about the expression and function of the BX648577 locus.