The inv(16) encodes an acute myeloid leukemia 1 transcriptional corepressor

The inv(16) is one of the most frequent chromosomal translocations associated with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The inv(16) fusion protein acts by dominantly interfering with AML-1/core binding factor β-dependent transcriptional regulation. Here we demonstrate that the inv(16) fusion protein cooperates with AML-1B to repress transcription. This cooperativity requires the ability of the translocation fusion protein to bind to AML-1B. Mutational analysis and cell fractionation experiments indicated that the inv(16) fusion protein acts in the nucleus and that repression occurs when the complex is bound to DNA. We also found that the inv(16) fusion protein binds to AML-1B when it is associated with the mSin3A corepressor. An AML-1B mutant that fails to bind mSin3A was impaired in cooperative repression, suggesting that the inv(16) fusion protein acts through mSin3 and possibly other corepressors. Finally, we demonstrate that the C-terminal portion of the inv(16) fusion protein contains a repression domain, suggesting a molecular mechanism for AML-1-mediated repression.