AF6q21, a novel partner of the MLL gene in t(6;11)(q21;q23), defines a forkhead transcriptional factor subfamily.

Fusion genes implicating the MLL gene have been recently demonstrated in various 11q23 chromosomal abnormalities in human hematopoietic malignancies. We analyzed a t(6;11)(q21;q23) translocation detected in a secondary acute myeloblastic leukemia. This translocation results in fusion of the MLL gene on 11q23 to a previously unknown gene on chromosome 6 that differs from the previously reported MLL partner gene AF6q. The novel gene, named AF6q21, encodes a forkhead (FH) protein with strong similarities to the two FH family members whose genes are already known to be involved in chromosomal translocations of human malignancies, AFX and FKHR. Strikingly, in these translocations the breakpoints are located at the same position within the FH domains. Therefore, AF6q21, AFX, and FKHR could define a new FH subfamily particularly involved in human malignancies.