Allelic imbalance at intragenic markers of Tbx18 is a hallmark of murine osteosarcoma

We have recently identified a locus exhibiting a high frequency of allelic imbalance (AI) in both spontaneous human (HSA 6q14.1-15) and radiogenic murine (MMU9, 42 cM) osteosarcoma. Here we describe the fine mapping of the locus in osteosarcoma arising in (BALB/cxCBA) F(1) hybrid mice. These studies have allowed us to identify Tbx18, a member of the T-box transcriptional regulator gene family, as a candidate gene. Three intragenic Tbx18 polymorphisms were used to map the region of maximum AI to within the gene itself; 16 of 17 tumours exhibited imbalances of at least one of these markers. The highest frequency was found in exon 1, where 14 of 17 tumours were affected at a single nucleotide polymorphism at 541 nt. Two polymorphic CA repeat markers in intron 2 and intron 5 demonstrated overlapping regions of imbalance in several tumours. Both markers flanking the Tbx18 gene (D9Osm48 and D9Mit269) revealed significantly lower frequencies of imbalance and confirmed the limitation of the common interval to Tbx18. Examination of both the mouse and human annotated genomic sequences indicated Tbx18 to be the only gene within the interval. Sequence analysis of the Tbx18 coding region did not reveal any evidence of mutation. Given the haploinsufficiency phenotypes reported for other T-box genes, we speculate that AI may influence the function of Tbx18 during osteosarcomagenesis.