Search for neuroblastoma loci: characterization of tumor cell lines that could facilitate their positional cloning.

Specific chromosomal aberrations might indicate the position of genes responsible for a particular disease. Neuroblastoma is characterized by frequent deletions and/or rearrangements of the subtelomeric 1p region which, accordingly, is believed to host one or more oncosuppressor gene(s) directly or indirectly involved in the development of this and other tumors. Identification of these genes could be facilitated if cell lines with well characterized interstitial deletions or reciprocal translocations could be available for application of 'positional cloning' strategies. In the present report we present additional and novel molecular data on three well established neuroblastoma cell lines (NLF, NMB and NGP). In one of these we have identified two sites that might be good candidates for hosting oncosuppressor genes; one of these is flanked by the D1S47 and ENO1 loci while the other is distal to the A12M2 locus.