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Steroid hormone regulation of nuclear proto-oncogenes.

The role of the nuclear proto-oncogenes as rapidly responding nuclear regulators in the cascade model for steroid hormone action is proposed. In this model, the nuclear proto-oncogenes respond within minutes to steroids and would code for regulatory proteins that in turn enter the nucleus to positively or negatively regulate "late" structural gene transcription and mRNA processing. The potential involvement of the nuclear matrix and one of its components, a receptor binding factor (RBF-1) for steroid receptors of these genes, is discussed. The nuclear proto-oncogenes, thus, may serve as important "early" regulatory genes and as excellent universal markers in all tissues in steroid hormone action. Proto-oncogenes are known to be regulatory genes since genetic alterations of amplification, mutations, chromosome translocation, and other rearrangements which result in overexpression, inactivation, and/or loss of regulatory control result in malignant transformation of the cell. It is now known that as many as six different proto-oncogenes must undergo alteration to induce the loss of cellular control of replication and/or for transformation to occur. The nuclear oncogenes, representing only one class of several of the known proto-oncogenes, code for transcription factors and enzymes involved in regulating these factors and other features of gene transcription. Possibly RNA processing is another function. Many of these genes and their responses to steroids are described in this chapter. The steroid receptors belong to a family which themselves represent transcription factors in that they reside in the nucleus and bind to specific DNA elements or other transcription factors to alter gene transcription and/or mRNA processing. The receptors for the various steroids are described as having a common structural motif and function using the above mentioned pathways. In the majority of cases cited, the steroid receptors mediate the rapid regulation of the nuclear proto-oncogene transcription. The role of palindromic SRE in or near these genes is to bind steroid hormone receptor dimers to regulate transcription. More powerful steroid response units (SRU), composed of two or more response elements for steroids or transcription factors, can act at great distances from the gene as enhancers for steroid- regulated transcription. What has become obvious from the studies of steroid effects on nuclear proto-oncogenes, is that, despite the tremendous scientific strides that have been made toward understanding gene regulation by steroids, we are still relatively naive.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗

[Expression of oncogenes in the rat liver under conditions of template biosynthesis uncoupling by sublethal doses of cycloheximide].

Injection of sublethal doses of cycloheximide (CHI) to rats allowed to reveal three stages in the dynamics of protein synthesis: 1) suppression stage (0-6 hrs), 2) regeneration stage (6-12 hrs), 3) stimulation stage (6-12 hrs). RNA-polymerases are activated when protein synthesis is inhibited. The stimulation stage precedes the activation of DNA replication. This model of DNA replication induced by CHI is specified by the expression of various cell oncogenes (c-fos, c-mys, p53, c-Ha-ras, c-sis, c-src). The investigated oncogenes may be divided into 4 groups according to the character of their expression. 1. Oncogenes (c-fos, c-myc) are switched on step-by-step 1 hour after CHI injection, the superexpression of the oncogenes being comparatively short. Maximum expression of c-fos and c-myc oncogenes is registered after 2-3 hours, respectively. 2./p53 oncogene expression increases within a few hours' after CHI injection and manifests itself at all three stages of protein synthesis till DNA replication. 3. c-Ha-ras oncogene is expressed at a high level in control and experimental animals. 4. Expression of c-sis and c-src oncogenes are absent both before and after CHI injection. Sublethal doses of CHI have the same effect on oncogene expression as the lethal ones.

Animals↗

Low rate of ret proto-oncogene activation (PTC/retTPC) in papillary thyroid carcinomas from Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: The ret proto-oncogene activation (PTC/retTPC oncogene) in thyroid papillary carcinoma has been reported in different populations with different frequencies. Thyroid papillary carcinoma appears to behave more aggressively in the Persian Gulf region than elsewhere. In the current study, the frequency of PTC/retTPC oncogene in thyroid tumors from Saudi Arabia was investigated. METHODS: PTC/retTPC oncogene transcripts were analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction amplification of cDNA synthesized by treatment of total RNA with reverse transcriptase. Seven multinodular goiters, 1 follicular adenoma, 4 follicular carcinomas, 40 papillary carcinomas, and 5 anaplastic carcinomas were studied. RESULTS: Only one papillary carcinoma specimen was found to have PTC/retTPC oncogene transcripts. The breakpoint of the rearranged PTC/retTPC oncogene is identical to that previously described. The PTC/retTPC-positive sample was also examined for p53 tumor suppressor gene mutations in exons 5-8. One transitional point mutation was detected at codon 161 (GCC to ACC), changing Ala to Thr. CONCLUSIONS: This study questions the relevance of PTC/retTPC oncogene in the carcinogenesis of thyroid papillary carcinomas in the Saudi population. Genetic background among races may contribute to the different frequencies of PTC/retTPC oncogene in thyroid papillary carcinoma.

Carcinoma, Papillary↗

Oncogenes in prostate cancer. An update.

Oncogenes have been implicated in the carcinogenic development of many diverse types of human malignancies. For some cancers, the expression of specific oncogenes has been shown to have diagnostic or prognostic value. By contrast currently, no oncogene has been correlated conclusively with the initiation or progression of prostate cancer. The ras oncogene has been investigated the most thoroughly for its involvement in prostate cancer, but ras does not appear to play a significant role in the development of this malignancy. Several years ago, limited studies hinted at the possibility of overexpression of the myc oncogene and aberrant expression of the sis oncogene in prostate cancer, but additional studies to clarify the involvement of these oncogenes have not been done. Oncogenic activity of growth factors or growth factor receptors in prostate cancer has been suggested but not amply demonstrated. Current dogma indicates that oncogenes exist in prostate cancer, but these will be identified only by more intensive investigation.

Epidermal Growth Factor↗

Oncogene expression in mammary epithelial cells.

Mouse strains which develop tumors at a high incidence with characteristics very similar to human cancers have been derived over the last 8 years. The tumors are caused by defined genetic alterations in the mouse genome. Three areas of research have contributed to the derivation of these mouse strains: (1) Molecular analysis of human tumors has shown that distinct oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes are consistently involved in a high percentage of primary tumors. (2) Regulatory enhancer-promoter sequences have been identified which direct gene expression to specific target cells, preferentially mammary epithelial cells. (3) The introduction of recombinant DNA molecules into fertilized mouse eggs by microinjection and integration of the injected DNA into the genome of injected cells has given rise to mutant mouse strains with unique and defined genetic alterations. Studies with different promoter-oncogene combinations introduced into transgenic mouse strains have led to the following general conclusions: (1) Oncogenes expressed in mammary gland cells predispose transgenic mice to mammary tumors. (2) The oncogenic potential of individual oncogenes in mammary epithelial cells differs. (3) Oncogene expression initially often causes a preneoplastic state affecting growth and differentiation parameters of cells. (4) The expression of different oncogenes synergizes to reduce tumor latency. Synergism can also be observed with physiological growth signals like estrogen or growth hormone. The oncogenes with a role in mammary carcinomas which have been investigated in transgenic mice will be described here. The phenotypic consequences of oncogene expression and the implications for the multistep carcinogenesis model will be discussed.

Animals↗

Expression of cellular oncogenes in human gastric carcinoma: c-myc, c-erb B2, and c-Ha-ras.

Expression of oncogenes in gastric cancer tissue was evaluated with immunohistochemical staining methods using monoclonal antibodies to products of the oncogenes. Rates of expression in gastric cancer tissue were 50% for c-myc, 72% for c-erb B2, and 56% for c-Ha-ras oncogenes. Expression of these oncogenes in gastric cancer was not correlated with the histologic differentiation. The c-Ha-ras oncogene was positive in 19 of 26 cases with lymph node and/or distant metastasis: the positive rate was significantly higher than in cases without metastasis. Results suggest that c-Ha-ras oncogene is related to the prognosis of gastric cancer. The rate of expression of c-myc and c-Ha-ras oncogenes in gastric cancer tissues was higher in the DNA aneuploid group than in the DNA diploid group. Expression of c-myc and c-Ha-ras oncogenes correlated with other prognostic factors such as DNA ploidy pattern and metastasis. These oncogenes can be used to evaluate prognosis of gastric cancer patients.

DNA, Neoplasm↗

The HL-60 transforming sequence: a ras oncogene coexisting with altered myc genes in hematopoietic tumors.

The oncogene of the HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cell line has been passed serially through NIH/3T3 mouse fibroblasts. Oncogene-specific probes prepared from the resulting tertiary transfectants by molecular cloning have been used to show that loss of the transfected oncogene from NIH/3T3 cells correlates with reversion to nontransformed morphology. Analysis of cells transfected by the oncogenes of other tumors and tumor cell lines indicates that the transforming gene of the HL-60 leukemia cell line is closely related to oncogenes of a Burkitt's lymphoma, an acute myelogenous leukemia, an adenocarcinoma of the colon, a neuroblastoma, and two sarcomas. This oncogene is distantly related to the viral oncogenes of Kirsten and Harvey sarcoma viruses. It has been termed N-ras. The active N-ras oncogene coexists with altered versions of the myc oncogene in the HL-60 and AW Ramos human tumors. This suggests a multistep mechanism involving both ras and myc genes in the creation of these tumors.

Animals↗

Oncogene expression in Rauscher murine leukemia virus induced erythroid, myeloid and lymphoid cell lines.

A comparative study on the expression of nuclear and cytoplasmic oncogenes was carried out using the Northern blotting technique, in Rauscher virus induced primary leukemias and the more malignant transformed cell lines derived from them. The latter grow permanently in vitro. Hyperplastic spleens obtained from mice recovering from anemia were analysed as controls. In addition to the detection of mRNAs, Southern blotting was carried out to observe whether rearrangement or amplification of oncogenes had occurred. The results show that the nuclear oncogenes c-myc, c-myb and p53 are strongly expressed in leukemic tissue, whereas c-fos transcripts show a much weaker hybridization. The expression of two of these oncogenes, c-myc and c-myb was followed during differentiation in myeloid leukemic cells and showed a gradual decrease when compared with the actin gene, which is constitutively transcribed. A large number of cytoplasmic oncogenes is expressed in the leukemic cells lines, i.e. c-abl, c-fms, c-fes, c-src, c-ros, c-H-ras, c-K-ras and N-ras. Of these, transcripts coding for c-abl and c-src were absent in blast cells of acute erythroid leukemias. Transcripts coding for c-erb, c-mos and c-sis could also not be detected. A number of putative oncogenes which are reported to play a role in Moloney and Friend virus induced leukemias for instance pim-1, fis-1, fim-1 and fim-2 were also used for screening. Only expression of pim-1 in Rauscher virus induced myeloid leukemic cells and in primary acute erythroid leukemias could be observed. At the DNA level no rearrangement or amplification of any of the oncogenes investigated could be detected. The results show that a number of oncogenes are expressed simultaneously in the same leukemic tissue or cell lines. It therefore seems likely that the presence of transcripts of different oncogenes is associated with the progression of leukemia, but is not the primary cause of leukemogenesis or of the transformation of these cells into established cell lines.

Animals↗

Clinical correlates in acromegalic patients with pituitary tumors expressing GSP oncogenes.

We herein review published findings on the clinical characteristics of acromegalic patients harboring pituitary somatotrophinomas expressing adenylyl cyclase activating gsp mutations and present an update of our own data on a large series of 176 patients with and without these oncogenes. Gsp oncogenes are the result of point mutations in either codon 201 or 227 of the Gs-alpha subunit of the Gs-protein which controls adenylyl cyclase. They result ultimately in increased intracellular cAMP levels and thus in excessive growth hormone (GH) secretion. Our large series has allowed us to characterise patients with mutations in codon 201 and the far rarer group possessing codon 227 defects. Both groups were compared with patients without gsp oncogenes. In accordance with previous findings, there was no statistically significant difference in age of the patients belonging to each group, the overall average tumor diameter nor in pre-operative serum GH levels, although the latter showed a tendency to be lower in patients with gsp oncogenes. The distribution of different types of response during an oral glucose tolerance test (no change, paradoxical rise or greater than 50% decrease in serum GH levels) did not differ between the 3 groups. However, the incidence of microadenomas was higher in acromegalics expressing gsp oncogenes in patients possessing mutations in codon 227. Additionally, the incidence of invasiveness was much lower (10% v. 33%) in those tumors with mutations in codon 227. Finally, previous in-vitro data indicating that gsp oncogene-expressing tumors may respond more efficiently to the somatostatin analogue, octreotide, have been confirmed by subsequent in-vivo studies showing a better reduction in serum GH levels in patients with gsp oncogenes. These latter findings suggest that presence of gsp oncogenes may be a marker for good reponsiveness to octreotide. Assessment of gsp oncogene status of surgically removed pituitary somatotrophinomas may thus be helpful in designing optimal medical therapies in those acromegalics requiring further post-operative management of the disease.

Acromegaly↗

The ras and myc oncogenes cooperate in tumor induction in many tissues when introduced into midgestation mouse embryos by retroviral vectors.

Midgestation embryos were infected with replication-defective retroviral vectors that either transduced the myc oncogene, the ras oncogene, or both oncogenes simultaneously. The myc virus induced tumors in diverse organs at a very low frequency and with a long latency period, while approximately 20% of the mice derived from embryos infected with the ras virus developed tumors in the skin with a latency of 4-8 weeks. In contrast, infection of embryos with the ras/myc double oncogene virus resulted in 27% of the animals developing rapidly growing and malignant tumors in a great variety of tissues after a median latency period of 2-3 weeks. All tumors were of monoclonal origin, as shown by Southern analysis using the provirus as a molecular marker. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the ras and myc oncogenes cooperate in transforming cells, but that additional alterations are necessary for realization of the fully malignant phenotype. Our observations also suggest that a much wider range of cell types become targets for malignant transformation when the embryos are exposed to the myc and the ras oncogenes simultaneously than when exposed to the same oncogenes separately. Infection of mouse embryos with vectors carrying different oncogenes or oncogene combinations may be an efficient and rapid method for evaluating the spectrum of cell types at risk for malignant conversion following mutation of a protooncogene to a transforming gene.

Animals↗

Specific patterns of oncogene activation in transplacentally induced tumors.

Transplacental exposure of rats to a single dose of the direct acting carcinogen methylnitrosourea (MNU) results in the induction of a variety of neoplasias of neuroectodermal, epithelial, and mesenchymal origin. Molecular analysis of the oncogenes present in these tumors revealed a striking degree of tissue specificity. neu oncogenes were found to be reproducibly activated in tumors derived from the peripheral nervous system (PNS), but not in those arising from the central nervous system (CNS). No ras oncogenes were found in either PNS- or CNS-derived tumors. However, Ha-ras oncogenes were detected in each of three mammary carcinomas and Ki-ras oncogenes were present in each of five kidney mesenchymal tumors. These results illustrate that phenotypic expression of activated oncogenes in vivo is not a random process and suggest that normal developmental programs may play an important role in modulating the activation of specific oncogenes by chemical carcinogens. PCR analysis revealed that each of the ras oncogenes detected in these transplacentally induced tumors became activated by the same G----A transition in the second base of codon 12. Since G----A transitions are the preferred mutations induced by MNU, it is likely that these ras oncogenes may have been directly targeted by MNU during embryonic development.

Animals↗

BAY 43-9006 inhibition of oncogenic RET mutants.

BACKGROUND: Medullary and papillary thyroid carcinomas are often associated with oncogenic activation of the RET tyrosine kinase. We evaluated whether the biaryl urea BAY 43-9006, which is known to inhibit several other tyrosine kinases, blocks RET kinase function and oncogenic activity. METHODS: We examined BAY 43-9006 activity against oncogenic RET in vitro and in cellular RET signaling in oncogenic RET-transfected NIH3T3 fibroblasts by using immunocomplex kinase assays and immunoblotting with phospho-specific antibodies. The effects of BAY 43-9006 on proliferation of human TPC1 and TT thyroid carcinoma cells, which harbor spontaneous oncogenic RET alleles, and on RAT1 fibroblasts transformed with oncogenic RET mutants, including mutants that are resistant to other chemotherapeutic agents, were determined using growth curves and flow cytometry. Growth of TT cell-derived xenograft tumors in athymic mice treated orally with BAY 43-9006 or with vehicle was measured. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: BAY 43-9006 inhibited oncogenic RET kinase activity at half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) of 50 nM or less in NIH3T3 cells. It also arrested the growth of NIH3T3 and RAT1 fibroblasts transformed by oncogenic RET and of thyroid carcinoma cells that harbor spontaneous oncogenic RET alleles. Moreover, BAY 43-9006 inhibited the growth of cells carrying RET V804L (IC50 = 110 nM, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 88 to 133 nM) or RET V804M (IC50 = 147 nM, 95% CI = 123 nM to 170 nM), both mutants that are resistant to anilinoquinazolines and pyrazolopyrimidines. After 3 weeks of oral treatment with BAY 43-9006 (60 mg/kg/day), the volume of TT cell xenografts (n = 7) was reduced from 72.5 to 44 mm3 (difference = 28.5 mm3, 95% CI = 7 mm3 to 50 mm3), whereas in vehicle-treated mice (n = 7), mean tumor volume increased to 408 mm3 (difference = 320 mm3, 95% CI = 180 mm3 to 460 mm3; untreated versus treated, P =.02). This inhibition paralleled a decrease in RET phosphorylation. CONCLUSIONS: BAY 43-9006 is a powerful inhibitor of the RET kinase. Its potential as a therapeutic tool for RET-positive thyroid tumors, including those expressing V804 mutations merits study.

Administration, Oral↗

RRR-alpha-tocopherol succinate down-regulates oncogenic Ras signaling.

alpha-Tocopherol succinate (TS), an analogue of vitamin E, has growth-inhibitory activity in a wide spectrum of in vitro and in vivo cancer models. Here, we report that modulation of oncogenic Ras is associated with TS activity. TS inhibits the proliferation and induces apoptosis of NIH3T3 cells stably transfected with oncogenic K-Ras and H-Ras, but not NIH3T3 cells expressing empty vector. TS treatment resulted in decreased Ras protein levels in oncogenic Ras expressing NIH3T3 cells but not in parental NIH3T3 cells. Treatment with TS suppressed the levels of phospho-Akt and phospho-Erk1/2 in oncogenic Ras expressing NIH3T3 cells. Overexpression of constitutively active phosphoinositide-3-kinase, Akt, and Mek1/2 significantly attenuated TS growth inhibition of oncogenic Ras-transformed NIH3T3 mouse fibroblast cell lines. In addition, transcriptional targets of oncogenic Ras such as c-Myc, cyclin D1, and E2F1 were down-regulated by TS in oncogenic Ras-expressing cells. The above TS effects on oncogenic Ras signaling were also observed in endogenous oncogenic K-Ras expressing HCT 116 (human colon cancer) and MDA-MB-231 (human breast cancer) cells. Taken together, these data show that TS down-regulation of the Ras signaling pathways that are mediated by Mek/Erk and phosphoinositide-3-kinase/Akt plays, at least in part, a critical role in TS inhibition of proliferation and survival of transformed cells. This data supports further investigation of the chemopreventive and therapeutic potential of TS in tumors that are dependent on activated Ras signaling and identifies phosphor-Erk and phosphor-Akt as potential biomarkers of TS activity.

Animals↗

Many oncogenes are transcribed in the D98AH2 derivative of the HeLa carcinoma cell line.

As a first step in an ongoing study on the correlation of oncogene expression and tumorigenicity in hybrids made by fusing D98AH2 (D98) carcinoma cells with normal diploid human fibroblasts, we determined which oncogenes are expressed in the D98 cells. Northern blot determinations of the RNA levels of 21 oncogenes revealed moderate to abundant transcripts of 13 oncogenes. The remaining eight oncogenes for which no RNA was found normally show a very restricted pattern of expression among cell types. The presence of RNAs for nine of the 13 that were transcribed was not unexpected as they have been found in many other cell types. Three of the oncogene RNAs that were detected in D98 cells have not been well characterized for tissue or cell type specificity. FOS RNA was unexpectedly detected at high levels in nonsynchronized D98 cells suggesting aberrant expression of this oncogene. A comparison of human oncogene RNAs described by other workers with those observed in the D98 cells revealed no alterations in the sizes of the RNAs. Abundant transcripts of human papilloma virus 18, which is frequently associated with human cervical tumors, were also found in the D98 cells. Despite the high levels of oncogene specific RNAs detected, transfection of murine NIH3T3 cells with DNA of D98 cells did not result in malignant transformation of the murine fibroblasts.

Cell Transformation, Neoplastic↗

beta-Catenin and ras oncogenes detect most human colorectal cancer.

UNLABELLED: PURPOSE AND STUDY DESIGN: Recent studies have shown that beta-catenin translocated into the cell nucleus functions like an oncogene. Accumulating evidence suggests that activation of the beta-catenin oncogenic signaling cascade along with its twin, the K-ras cascade, may exert syngeneic or synergistic effects on tumor development and progression. In the study reported here, we analyzed oncogenic beta-catenin activation on the basis of its nuclear accumulation (NA) and compared the results with those of mutational activation of K-ras in 74 patients with colorectal cancer to determine whether the two oncogene-mediated signaling cascades interact. RESULTS: We found two distinct patterns of beta-catenin activation, i.e., diffuse NA in 20 cases (27%) and selective NA at the tumor invasion front (NAinv) in 19 cases (26%). The presence of the NAinv pattern was significantly correlated with advanced Dukes' stage tumor (P = 0.0005) and the presence of distant metastases (P = 0.0064). K-ras proto-oncogene was mutated in the tumors of 31 cases (42%). Activated beta-catenin or K-ras was detected in most (78%) colorectal cancers analyzed, although a weak inverse correlation was found between the activities of the two oncogenes in the tumors. Importantly, most (7 of 8) patients with tumor showing both K-ras activation and the NAinv pattern of beta-catenin activation were in Dukes' stage C at surgery, and half of them developed distant metastases to the liver and lungs. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that although oncogenic activation of beta-catenin and K-ras is independent in the process of clinical cancer development, combined analysis of the two major oncogenes can detect most colorectal cancers and identify a subset of patients with poorer outcomes. Consequently, activation of either or both of these oncogenes may serve as a genetic marker for molecular diagnosis.

Adult↗

Dual fluorescence in situ hybridization in detection of HER-2 oncogene amplification in primary hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Molecular cytogenetics of oncogene HER-2 amplification in primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of HER-2 oncogene amplification in primary HCC and its relations to clinicopathological parameters and prognosis. METHODS: Forty-two surgical samples from patients with primary HCC were detected for their HER-2 oncogene amplification. The number of chromosome 17 and their ratio were tested by dual fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique, and then the correlations between HER-2 amplification, clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: HER-2 oncogene amplification was detected in 9 (21.4%) of the 42 primary HCCs, including 4 patients with high copy (HC) (9.5%) and 5 patients with low copy (LC) (11.9%). HER-2 amplification was associated significantly with tumor size and postoperative survival time of HCC patients (P<0.05), and the presence of HER-2 gene amplification was correlated with postoperative relapse (P=0.257), but not related to sex, age, AFP level, HBV infection, histopathological grading and clinical staging of HCC patients (P>0.05). The HER-2 oncogene copy was examined in 31 (73.8%) of the 42 primary HCCs, consisting of 9 patients with HER-2 amplification (21.4%) and 22 patients with aneuploidy (52.4%). No significant relations were observed between the HER-2 oncogene copy, patient sex, tumor size, histopathological grading, clinical staging, postoperative relapse and survival time (P>0.05); but the HER-2 oncogene copy was correlated significantly to age, AFP level and HBV infection (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There are a lower frequency of HER-2 oncogene amplification and a higher frequency of chromosome 17 aneuploidy in primary HCC. HER-2 oncogene amplification may be involved in the development and progression of large HCC in some patients, and seems to be a valuably independent prognostic factor predicting the recurrence and poor survival in patients with large HCC.

Adult↗

Expression of transfected recombinant oncogenes increases radiation resistance of clonal hematopoietic and fibroblast cell lines selectively at clinical low dose rate.

To determine the effect of oncogene expression on gamma radiation sensitivity of hematopoietic compared to fibroblastic cells, we selected clonal sublines of an interleukin-3 (IL-3)-dependent hematopoietic progenitor cell line 32D cl 3 and NIH/3T3 embryo fibroblastic cells following transfection with each oncogene linked to the mycophenolic acid resistance gene. Each mycophenolic acid-resistant subclone demonstrated high levels of specific poly(A)+ mRNA for each oncogene. The parent line 32D cl 3 demonstrated similar radiosensitivity at 116 cGy/min (D0 126, n 1.17) compared to 5 cGy/min (D0 123, n 1.65). This pattern was not altered in subclones of 32D cl 3 cells transfected with the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor gene and grown in EGF (at 116 cGy/min D0 104, n 0.998, at 5 cGy/min D0 115, n 1.09), or in 32D cl 3 cells expressing the v-sis oncogene (at 116 cGy/min D0 122.4, n 1.79, at 5 cGy/min D0 135, n 1.43). In contrast, expression of the transfected oncogenes v-erb-B, v-abl, or v-src conferred significant radioresistance at 5 cGy/min dose rate (D0 194, n 1.77; D0 165.5, n 1.56; D0 171, n 1.28, respectively). With the exception of v-sis, oncogene expression resulted in nonautocrine factor independence of 32D cl 3 subclones, and production of donor origin tumors in syngeneic new-born or adult mice. Two rare spontaneous factor-independent subclones of 32D cl 3 were also tested. Nonautocrine clone 32D cl 2 demonstrated significantly increased radioresistance at low dose rate (D0 186, n 1.63), while autocrine (IL-3 producing) subclone 32D cl 4 revealed no significant increase in radioresistance at 5 cGy/min. The parent fibroblast cell line NIH/3T3 showed an intrinsic relative radioresistance at low dose rate (at 5 cGy/min D0 157.3, n 1.81, compared to 116 cGy/min D0 134.3, n 1.57). Expression in NIH/3T3 of transfected oncogenes v-abl, v-fms, v-fos, or H-ras increased radioresistance at low dose rate (D0 208.6, n 1.61; D0 206.6, n 1.51; D0 167.5, n 1.85; and D0 206.8, n 1.08, respectively). Thus expression of each of several oncogenes induces resistance to gamma irradiation at 5 cGy/min in hematopoietic and fibroblast cell lines. These data may help explain the clinical recurrence of oncogene-expressing leukemia and lymphoma cells after marrow stem cell ablative doses of low-dose-rate total-body irradiation.

Animals↗

[Cancer metastasis and oncogenes].

Alterations in the structure and/or expression of oncogenes have been examined to comprehend better the relationship between metastasis and oncogenes. There are reports that amplification and overexpression of N-myc (human neuroblastoma) and erbB-2 (human breast cancer) are closely related to malignant progression. On the other hand, DNA transfer experiments have also been done to assess involvement of oncogenes in metastasis. The active ras oncogenes, which are frequently used, show that transfer of the ras oncogenes endow and/or enhance the metastatic potential of the recipient cells. In addition to the phenomenological studies to determine whether an oncogene alters metastatic potential, increasing attention has been directed to possible phenotypic changes relating to metastasis and affected by oncogenes. It has been clarified that transfer of a certain oncogene, such as ras and fos, alters the expression of biomolecules, for example, metalloproteinases responsible for invasion, autocrine motility factors and cytoskeletal proteins related to cell motility, receptors of fibronectin for cell attachment, and histocompatibility antigens, such as H-2K and H2-D. While further characterization of the biomolecular changes induced by the oncogenes has to be done, the mechanisms of alteration in the expression and function of biomolecules directly involved in the metastatic potential also should be paid attention.

Animals↗