Sequence analysis of amplified t(14;18) chromosomal breakpoints in B-cell lymphomas.

We have explored different strategies for sequencing of major breakpoint (mbr) junctional regions in t(14;18) chromosomal translocations--the most frequent chromosomal abnormality observed in B-cell lymphomas. We demonstrate that coupling of the preparation of single-stranded DNA by asymmetric polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct sequencing is the method of choice for the rapid and precise determination of clone-specific bcl-2/JH fusion gene sequences. The rapidity, relative ease, and accuracy of the technique, described for the nucleotide sequence analysis of mbr t(14;18) breakpoints, permits the analysis of a relatively large number of samples and should be considered as part of the clinical evaluation of lymphoma patients. Furthermore, by providing sequence information of clone-specific DNA regions, the procedure should reduce the risk of false-positive results from PCR.