The Abl oncogene was initially identified as the viral transforming gene of Abelson murine leukemia virus (A-MuLV). The major translational product of c-Abl has been identified as a protein with tyrosine kinase activity and an SH2 domain. The Abl oncogene is implicated in several human leukemias including 90-95% of chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML), 20-25% of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 2-5% of pediatric ALL. In these leukemias the c-Abl proto-oncogene undergoes a (9;22) chromosomal translocation producing the Philadelphia (Ph1) chromosome. The molecular consequence of this translocation is the generation of a chimeric Bcr/c-Abl mRNA encoding activated Abl protein-tyrosine kinase. The Bcr gene has been shown to encode a GTPase-activating protein (GAP) specific for the Ras-related GTP-binding protein, p21rac.
