The human VAV proto-oncogene maps to chromosome region 19p12----19p13.2

A novel human oncogene, designated VAV, has been recently characterized. This oncogene was generated by a rearrangement within the 5' coding sequences of a normal cellular gene, the VAV proto-oncogene. The normal VAV gene is specifically expressed in hematopoietic cells regardless of their differentiation lineage. We now report that the VAV locus has been localized in the human genome at chromosome 19p12----19p13.2 by analysis of its segregation pattern in rodent-human somatic cell hybrids and by chromosomal in situ hybridization. The VAV locus might be closely linked to the insulin receptor (INSR) locus, as suggested by comigration of INSR and VAV high-molecular-weight DNA fragments after pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The VAV chromosomal assignment is of interest because chromosome region 19p13 is involved in different karyotypic abnormalities in a variety of malignancies including melanomas and leukemias. The identification of a novel proto-oncogene that maps to that region will enable us to define whether VAV is involved in any of the translocations observed.