DUSP22-IRF4 Break Apart FISH Probe

The DUSP22/IRF4 Break Apart FISH Probe localizes to the DUSP22/IRF4 gene allowing confirmation of rearrangements of the gene.

DUSP22 is a member of the Dual Specificity Phosphatase family, a subset of proteins that are expressed in nearly all mammalian cell types1. Phosphatases remove phosphates from proteins, a primary function in tumor suppression; excessive phosphorylation (phosphate addition) of cell-cycle regulators is a universal cancer indicator1. Some of DUSP22’s effector proteins include the estrogen receptor ERα (a breast cancer regulator), IL6 (a leukemia inhibitor), and many others too numerous to list2.

The IRF4 gene lies adjacent to DUSP22 on the p arm of chromosome 6. IRF4 encodes the Interferon Regulatory Factor 4, a protein that aids in normal B lymphocyte development and inhibits BCR/ABL transformation of myeloid cells, both of which are crucial in preventing hematopoietic malignancies3,4.

DUSP22-IRF4 break-apart rearrangements were the first type of recurrent translocation identified in ALK-negative Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL), and recent research reports that DUSP22-IRF4 translocations occur in 20-57% of primary cutaneous ALCLC’s5,6. Therefore, DUSP22-IRF4 breaks are likely to disrupt important cancer-suppressing mechanisms in the 6p25.3 region where both genes reside. Research continues on the oncogenic impact of chromosome breaks between these two critical cancer regulators.

Loci: 6p25