Characterization of a novel ETS gene, TELB, encoding a protein structurally and functionally related to TEL

The TEL/ETV6 gene is located at 12p13 and is frequently involved in chromosomal translocations in human malignancies usually resulting in the expression of fusion proteins between the amino terminal part of TEL, and either unrelated transcription factors or protein tyrosine kinases. We report here a novel gene named TELB which is located on human chromosomal band 6p21 and encodes a protein highly related to TEL, TELB is widely expressed in different tissues and, similarly to TEL encodes a sequence-specific transcriptional repressor.