Using microarray analysis, we identified a unique ras superfamily gene, termed RERG (ras-related and estrogen-regulated growth inhibitor), whose expression was decreased or lost in a significant percentage of primary human breast tumors that show a poor clinical prognosis. Importantly, high RERG expression correlated with expression of a set of genes that define a breast tumor subtype that is estrogen receptor-positive and associated with a slow rate of tumor cell proliferation and a favorable prognosis for these cancer patients. RERG mRNA expression was induced rapidly in MCF-7 cells stimulated by ␤-estradiol and repressed by tamoxifen treatment. Like Ras, RERG protein exhibited intrinsic GDP/GTP binding and GTP hydrolysis activity. Unlike Ras proteins, RERG lacks a known recognition signal for COOH-terminal prenylation and was localized primarily in the cytoplasm. Expression of RERG protein in MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells resulted in a significant inhibition of both anchorage-dependent and anchorageindependent growth in vitro and inhibited tumor formation in nude mice. These features of RERG are strikingly different from most Ras superfamily GTP-binding proteins and suggest that the loss of RERG expression may contribute to breast tumorigenesis.

Histiocytic and interdigitating dendritic cell sarcomas are rare tumors originating from bone marrow derived myeloid stem cells. Recent studies have shown evidence of cross-lineage transdifferentiation of B-cells in follicular lymphoma to histiocytic and dendritic cell sarcomas. In this study, we report the morphologic, molecular and cytogenetic analysis of 7 cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma associated with histiocytic and dendritic cell sarcomas. All seven patients were elderly males (median age, 71 years). The B-cell neoplasms preceded the development of the histiocytic and dendritic cell sarcomas in 6 of 7 patients, and one patient had both tumors diagnosed at the same time. The tumors included 4 interdigitating dendritic cell sarcomas; 1 Langerhans cell sarcoma, 1 histiocytic sarcoma, and 1 immature neoplasm with evidence of histiocytic origin. Laser-capture microdissection and PCR analysis showed identical clonal immunoglobulin gene rearrangements in the two phenotypically distinct components in all cases. There was a preferential usage of IGHV4-39 by the V-D-J gene rearrangement. By FISH analysis two cases showed deletion 17p in both components, while 4 cases had normal cytogenetic findings by FISH in the CLL/SLL cells, but acquired cytogenetic abnormalities in the corresponding histiocytic and dendritic tumors. Chromosome 17p abnormalities were the most common cytogenetic abnormality detected in the sarcomas, seen in 5 of 6 cases studied. Compared with the CLL/SLL cells, the histiocytic/dendritic cells were largely negative for PAX5, but showed strong expression of PU.1 and variable and weak expression of CEBPβ. Our study provides evidence for transdifferentiation of CLL/SLL B-cells to tumors of dendritic and less often histiocytic lineage, and suggests that secondary genetic events may play a role in this phenomenon.