H-2-restricted helper factor secreted by clone hybridoma cells.

Biological and serological characteristics of a helper factor secreted by cloned hybridoma cells was described. The factor is carrier specific and contains determinants shared with immunoglobulin VH bu does not react with V kappa- or V lambda-specific antibodies. Presence of four H-2I-controlled antigenic specificities, Ia.ml, Ia.m2, Ia.17, and Ia.m7, was detected. Hence, it is possible that both A beta and E alpha loci may be involved in its control. Helper effect could be obtained only toward B cell sources that shared the H-2K and I-A antigens with the hybridoma cells. Similarly, the factor was absorbed only by spleen cells syngeneic in I-A. Previous studies have demonstrated that this clone binds antigen in an H-2-restricted manner. It follows that H-2-restricted helper cells produce H-2-restricted helper factors. Hence, they support the view that specific T cell factors may represent secreted T cell receptors.

The UVB-induced gene expression profile of human epidermis in vivo is different from that of cultured keratinocytes.

In order to obtain a comprehensive picture of the molecular events regulating cutaneous photodamage of intact human epidermis, suction blister roofs obtained after a single dose of in vivo ultraviolet (UV)B exposure were used for microarray profiling. We found a changed expression of 619 genes. Half of the UVB-regulated genes had returned to pre-exposure baseline levels at 72 h, underscoring the transient character of the molecular cutaneous UVB response. Of special interest was our finding that several of the central p53 target genes remained unaffected following UVB exposure in spite of p53 protein accumulation. We next compared the in vivo expression profiles of epidermal sheets to that of cultured human epidermal keratinocytes exposed to UVB in vitro. We found 1931 genes that differed in their expression profiles between the two groups. The expression profile in intact epidemis was geared mainly towards DNA repair, whereas cultured keratinocytes responded predominantly by activating genes associated with cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. These differences in expression profiles might reflect differences between mature differentiating keratinocytes in the suprabasal epidermal layers versus exponentially proliferating keratinocytes in cell culture. Our findings show that extreme care should be taken when extrapolating from findings based on keratinocyte cultures to changes in intact epidermis.

S100A2 gene is a direct transcriptional target of p53 homologues during keratinocyte differentiation.

The p53 paralogues p73, p63 and their respective truncated isoforms have been shown to be critical regulators of developmental and differentiation processes. Indeed, both p73- and p63-deficient mice exhibit severe developmental defects. Here, we show that S100A2 gene, whose transcript and protein are induced during keratinocyte differentiation of HaCaT cells, is a direct transcriptional target of p73beta and DeltaNp63alpha and is required for proper keratinocyte differentiation. Transactivation assays reveal that p73beta and DeltaNp63alpha exert opposite transcriptional effects on S100A2 gene. While DeltaNp63alpha is found in vivo onto S100A2 regulatory regions predominantly in proliferating cells, p73beta is recruited in differentiating cells. Silencing of p73 impairs the induction of S100A2 during the differentiation of HaCaT cells. Moreover, silencing of p73 or S100A2 impairs the proper expression of keratinocyte differentiation markers. Of note, p53 family members do not trigger S100A2 gene expression in response to apoptotic doses of cisplatin and doxorubicin.

Receptor functions and ligand-dependent transforming potential of a chimeric kit proto-oncogene.

The c-kit proto-oncogene, the cellular homolog of the transforming gene of a feline retrovirus, encodes a transmembrane tyrosine kinase homologous to receptors for growth factors. To study the cellular function of c-kit, we constructed a chimeric molecule composed of the extracellular portion of the receptor for epidermal growth factor (EGF) and the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of p145kit. The hybrid molecule was properly expressed in murine fibroblasts and displayed specific binding of EGF (Kd, 3 x 10(-8) M). Activation of the chimeric receptor by EGF stimulated the tyrosine kinase activity of kit and led to the generation of a potent mitogenic signal. Moreover, cells expressing the chimeric receptor acquired a transformed phenotype once they were stimulated with the heterologous ligand.

Identification of the human pim-1 gene product as a 33-kilodalton cytoplasmic protein with tyrosine kinase activity.

The human pim-1 gene was recently identified as a new putative oncogene located on chromosome 6p21, a region showing karyotypic abnormalities in particular leukemias. In the present work we characterized the pim protein product. In vitro translation of positively selected poly(A)+ mRNA indicates that this gene encodes a 33-kilodalton protein. Anti-pim antibodies were raised against a fused TrpE-pim protein induced in a bacterial expression vector. This antibody immunoprecipitated a 33-kilodalton protein from in vivo [35S]methionine-labeled K562 and KCl myelogenous origin cell lines. This protein was localized to the cytoplasm, and in vivo labeling as well as in vitro kinase assay suggests that it is a phosphoprotein with tyrosine kinase activity. This was further confirmed by performing autophosphorylation directly on a p33pim-containing gel band cut out after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The results imply that the tyrosine kinase activity of pim can be recovered after boiling the pim-1 protein in sample buffer: a feature not described yet for this class of protein. These results suggest that pim-1 is a new member of the subgroup of oncogenes encoding tyrosine kinases.

Localization of a major receptor-binding domain for epidermal growth factor by affinity labeling.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor was affinity labeled with 125I-labeled EGF, using bifunctional covalent cross-linking agents. The affinity-labeled receptor was isolated and cleaved with CNBr to yield a single-labeled fragment, which was unequivocally identified by site-specific antibodies and other methods to encompass residues 294 to 543 of the EGF receptor. On the basis of amino acid sequence conservation, the extracellular portion of EGF receptor can be divided into four domains. The labeled CNBr fragment contains the entire sequence which is flanked by the two cysteine-rich domains of extracellular portion of the EGF receptor denoted as domain III. On the basis of these and other results, we propose that domain III contributes most of the interactions that define ligand-binding specificity of the EGF receptor.

Interspecies molecular chimeras of kit help define the binding site of the stem cell factor.

The extracellular portion of the kit-encoded receptor for the stem cell factor (SCF) comprises five immunoglobulin (Ig)-like domains. To localize the ligand recognition site, we exploited the lack of binding of human SCF to the murine receptor by using human-mouse hybrids of Kit and species-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) that inhibit ligand binding. Replacement of the three N-terminal Ig-like domains of the murine Kit with the corresponding portion of the human receptor conferred upon the chimeric receptor high-affinity binding of the human ligand as well as of human-specific ligand-inhibitory MAbs. By constructing five chimeric murine Kit proteins which individually contain each of these three human Ig-like units or pairs of them, we found that the second human domain confers upon the mouse Kit high-affinity binding of the human ligand and also binding of species-specific SCF-competitive MAbs. Nevertheless, the flanking Ig-like domains also affect high-affinity recognition of SCF. Moreover, it appears that the determinants that define ligand specificity of the murine and the human receptors do not structurally coincide. This observation allowed us to identify a chimeric receptor that displayed a dual specificity; namely, it bound with high affinity either the human or the murine SCF molecules and reacted with mouse- as well as human-specific ligand-inhibitory MAbs. Conversely, another chimera, which included all of the five Ig-like domains, bound neither ligand. In conclusion, interdomain packing involving the second Ig-like domain of human Kit and noncontiguous structural motifs of the receptor are involved in SCF recognition.

Human HER2 (neu) promoter: evidence for multiple mechanisms for transcriptional initiation.

We localized the 5' region of the human gene HER2 in a cloned fragment of genomic DNA. This clone contained exons 1 to 4 of HER2, spanning the coding sequence for the first 191 amino acids. The promoter region of HER2 was identified upstream to exon 1 by nuclease S1 mapping and by a functional assay in which the promoter region drives the expression of a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene. The HER2 promoter is different from the promoter of the epidermal growth factor receptor gene (HER1), and the GC boxes which are typical of the promoter of the epidermal growth factor receptor gene are absent from the HER2 promoter. One major and two minor RNA start sites located at nucleotides 178, 244, and 257 upstream to the initiator ATG were identified. The first one is 21 and 70 base pairs downstream from typical TATAA and CAAT boxes, respectively. This indicates that transcription of HER2/neu can be regulated by a mechanism involving a TATA box, as well as by other unidentified regulatory elements.

The gene and the pseudogene for mouse p53 cellular tumor antigen are located on different chromosomes.

The chromosomal assignments of the two genes encoding the murine p53 cellular tumor antigen were determined by using a panel of mouse-Chinese hamster somatic cell hybrid clones and a mouse p53-specific cDNA clone. One gene, probably the functional member of the family, was found to be on chromosome 11. The other gene, which is probably a processed pseudogene, was assigned to chromosome 14. The potential relevance of these findings to documented cases of chromosome 11 trisomy are also discussed.

Chicken epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor: cDNA cloning, expression in mouse cells, and differential binding of EGF and transforming growth factor alpha.

The primary structure of the chicken epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor was deduced from the sequence of a cDNA clone containing the complete coding sequence and shown to be highly homologous to the human EGF receptor. NIH-3T3 cells devoid of endogenous EGF receptor were transfected with the appropriate cDNA constructs and shown to express either chicken or human EGF receptors. Like the human EGF receptor, the chicken EGF receptor is a glycoprotein with an apparent molecular weight of 170,000. Murine EGF bound to the chicken receptor with approximately 100-fold lower affinity than to the human receptor molecule. Surprisingly, human transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha) bound equally well or even better to the chicken EGF receptor than to the human EGF receptor. Moreover, TGF-alpha stimulated DNA synthesis 100-fold better than did EGF in NIH 3T3 cells that expressed the chicken EGF receptor. The differential binding and potency of mammalian EGF and TGF-alpha by the avian EGF receptor contrasts with the similar affinities of the mammalian receptor for the two growth factors.

Gene expression profiles of AML derived stem cells; similarity to hematopoietic stem cells.

Tumors contain a fraction of cancer stem cells that maintain the propagation of the disease. The CD34(+)CD38(-) cells, isolated from acute myeloid leukemia (AML), were shown to be enriched leukemic stem cells (LSC). We isolated the CD34(+)CD38(-) cell fraction from AML and compared their gene expression profiles to the CD34(+)CD38(+) cell fraction, using microarrays. We found 409 genes that were at least twofold over- or underexpressed between the two cell populations. These include underexpression of DNA repair, signal transduction and cell cycle genes, consistent with the relative quiescence of stem cells, and chromosomal aberrations and mutations of leukemic cells. Comparison of the LSC expression data to that of normal hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) revealed that 34% of the modulated genes are shared by both LSC and HSC, supporting the suggestion that the LSC originated within the HSC progenitors. We focused on the Notch pathway since Jagged-2, a Notch ligand was found to be overexpressed in the LSC samples. We show that DAPT, an inhibitor of gamma-secretase, a protease that is involved in Jagged and Notch signaling, inhibits LSC growth in colony formation assays. Identification of additional genes that regulate LSC self-renewal may provide new targets for therapy.

Induction of WAF1/CIP1 by a p53-independent pathway.

The p53-inducible gene WAF1/CIP1 encodes a M(r) 21,000 protein (p21) that has been shown to arrest cell growth by inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinases. Induction of WAF1/CIP1 in cells undergoing p53-dependent G1 arrest or apoptosis supports the idea that WAF1/CIP1 is a critical downstream effector of p53. In the present study, we used embryonic fibroblasts from p53 "knock-out" mice to demonstrate p53-independent induction of WAF1/CIP1. We show that serum or individual growth factors such as platelet-derived growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, and epidermal growth factor but not insulin are able to induce WAF1/CIP1 in quiescent p53-deficient cells as well as in normal cells. The kinetics of this transient induction, which is enhanced by cycloheximide, demonstrates that WAF1/CIP1 is an immediate-early gene the transcript of which reaches a peak at approximately 2 h following serum or growth factor stimulation. On the other hand, DNA damage elicited by gamma-irradiation induces WAF1/CIP1 in normal human and mouse fibroblasts but does not affect WAF1/CIP1 expression in p53-deficient cells. These results suggest the existence of two separate pathways for the induction of WAF1/CIP1, a p53-dependent one activated by DNA damage and a p53-independent one activated by mitogens at the entry into the cell cycle. The possible function of p21 at this early stage is discussed.

Sporadic amplification of the HER2/neu protooncogene in adenocarcinomas of various tissues.

The HER2/neu protooncogene was found to be amplified in 6 of 109 primary adenocarcinoma tumors. No HER2/neu amplification was found in 29 other primary nonadenocarcinomatous tumors. In two colon tumors, in addition to the amplification, DNA rearrangement of HER2/neu gene was also observed. The rearrangement was explored in detail in one tumor and it was shown to be confined to the 3' region of the gene. Moreover, this tumor expressed an aberrant HER2/neu polypeptide with a molecular weight of 190,000, which is larger by approximately 5,000 than the molecular weight of the normal HER2/neu protein. The aberrant HER2/neu protein was immunoprecipitated with site-specific antibodies against a synthetic peptide from the COOH-terminal end of the normal HER2/neu protein; it also displayed intrinsic protein tyrosine kinase activity leading to self-phosphorylation.

The tumor suppression function of p21Waf is contained in its N-terminal half ('half-WAF').

The Waf-1 encoded protein, p21, mediates p53 suppression of tumor cell growth. Overexpression of p21 in the H1299 tumor cell line suppresses colony formation similar to that resulted from p53 overexpression. In an effort to localize the tumor suppression function within the structure of p21 we utilized vectors constructed with systematic truncations of p21 and tested their efficiency in suppressing tumor cell growth. We demonstrate that the N-terminal half of the p21 molecule (residues 1-80 and 1-89) shows better tumor cell growth suppression than the entire p21 molecule whereas the C-terminal half of p21 does not show this effect. These results may have implications for gene therapy of cancer.

Induced p21waf expression in H1299 cell line promotes cell senescence and protects against cytotoxic effect of radiation and doxorubicin.

The CDK inhibitor p21waf is a principal mediator of p53 function but can also be transactivated by many p53-independent stimuli leading to cell growth arrest or differentiation. In order to study the function of p21waf in a p53-deficient environment, we established an inducible expression of p21waf in the p53-null lung cancer cell line H1299, based on the muristerone-regulated system. Overexpression of p21waf led cells to growth arrest which after several days became irreversible and the arrested cells acquired a senescent phenotype as judged by cell shape, the senescence-associated beta-gal marker and inhibition of colony formation. The effect of p21waf overexpression, in the absence of p53, on the cytotoxicity caused by irradiation, doxorubicin and taxol was studied. Expression of p21waf provided protection against the cytotoxic effect of radiation and doxorubicin but not of taxol. These results are relevant to treatment of cancer when p53 is inactive.

Promoter region of the murine fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (bek/KGFR) gene.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and their receptors play an important role in cell growth, angiogenesis and embryonal development. Four distinct genes encoding fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) were identified: flg, encoding FGFR1, bek encoding FGFR2, and the genes for FGFR3 and FGFR4. Both FGFR2 and keratinocyte growth factor receptor (KGFR) are encoded by the same gene, bek. To study the regulation of expression of the FGF receptors we analysed the DNA sequence flanking the 5' region of the cDNA of murine FGFR2 to seek elements that control its transcription. A 5-kbp fragment containing the 5' end of the cDNA was isolated from mouse genomic library and used to map the promoter region. We found that the sequence encoding the 5' non-translated region of the FGFR2/KGFR cDNA contains an intron located 210 bp upstream from the translation start site. Using RNAase protection and primer extension, we identified the mRNA start 37 bp upstream from the beginning of the bek cDNA. The promoter activity was found to reside in a 1.3-kbp fragment upstream from the cDNA, and deletion mapping further localized the promoter to a 0.7-kbp fragment. The sequence of this region shows high G+C content (62%), which is particularly emphasized in the 200 bp upstream from the mRNA start (80% G+C). This region contains the CCGCCC, GGGCGG AND GGAGG motifs also found in promoters of other growth factor receptors. Neither TATA nor CAAT boxes were found near the RNA start site. The characterization of this promoter will allow studies of the regulation of expression of the FGFR2 during development and in pathophysiological states. The differences between the promoter sequence of the gene for FGFR2 (bek) and FGFR1 (flg) may explain their differential expression during development.

Overexpression of p21waf1/cip1 arrests the growth of chicken embryo fibroblasts that overexpress E2F1.

P21waf1/cip1 is a potent inhibitor of cell cycle progression and can inhibit the growth of both normal cells and cells transformed by a number of oncogenes. However, the ability of p21waf1/cip1 to inhibit the growth of cells that overexpress the transcriptional transactivator E2F1 is controversial: it has been reported both that E2F1 can and cannot overcome the block in the cell cycle induced by p21waf1/cip1. To avoid the complications that arise when such experiments are done with permanent cell lines, we tested the effects of overexpressing p21waf/cip1 and E2F1 in primary chicken embryo fibroblasts. In this system very high levels of E2F1 overexpression cause considerable apoptosis; however, the surviving cells still overexpress E2F1. These cells are transformed and their growth is blocked by overexpression of p21waf1/cip1.

Induced p53 expression in lung cancer cell line promotes cell senescence and differentially modifies the cytotoxicity of anti-cancer drugs.

The p53-null human lung cancer cell line H1299 was used in order to generate clones with ecdysone-inducible p53 as well as ecdysone-inducible p21waf1. Induced expression of p53 resulted in irreversible cell growth arrest with characteristics of replicative senescence, suggesting that p53 can prevent immortalization by activating a senescence program. The effect of induced p53 and p21waf1 expression on the cytotoxic action of the anti-cancer drugs etoposide and cisplatin was also analysed. Whereas p21waf1 overexpression conferred increased resistance to killing by either drug, p53 overexpression enhanced the cytotoxic effect of cisplatin but protected against etoposide cytotoxicity. These results imply that the impact of p53 on susceptibility to chemotherapy may depend greatly on the particular drug and type of DNA damage. Moreover, these data demonstrate the importance of using isogenic cell lines to address this issue.

PCR-based identification of new receptors: molecular cloning of a receptor for fibroblast growth factors.

Transmembrane tyrosine kinases are involved in the control of cell growth and differentiation by extracellular signals. To enable identification of new receptor tyrosine kinases we developed a method that selectively amplifies segments of receptor genes. The method is based on a combination of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hybridization screening and it employs three oligonucleotide primers derived from conserved domains of receptor tyrosine kinases. It yields amplification of receptors' genes and appears to ignore cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases. When applied to RNA from 12.5 days post coitum mouse placenta, this methodology resulted in the detection of several putative or established receptors. Molecular cloning of one of these genes, which is identical to the partially characterized bek gene, identified a transmembrane tyrosine kinase with three immunoglobulin-like domains in the extracellular portion, and a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase sequence. The isolated cDNA shows remarkable homology to the murine flg gene that encodes a receptor for fibroblast growth factors. Indeed, an antibody directed to the carboxy terminus of the deduced bek protein specifically recognized a receptor for acidic and basic fibroblast growth factors in murine hepatoma cells. We therefore expect that the methodology we developed will enable the study of new receptors in hardly accessible biological systems such as early mammalian embryos or stem cells.

Flg-2, a new member of the family of fibroblast growth factor receptors.

Two genes, flg and bek, have been recently shown to encode receptors for fibroblast growth factors (FGF). Here we report the molecular cloning and sequence of a new member of the FGF receptor family, denoted flg-2, which was isolated from a human keratinocyte cDNA library. The cDNA sequence predicts an extracellular region possessing three immunoglobulin-like domains, a single transmembrane region and a cytoplasmic portion containing the tyrosine kinase domain split by a short inter-kinase segment. The amino acid sequence of flg-2 shows 68% and 64% identity with bek and flg, respectively. The most variable domain among the three genes is the amino-terminal immunoglobulin-like domain. Comparison with the chicken FGF receptor genes suggests that flg-2 is homologous to cek-2, whereas flg and bek are homologous to cek-1 and cek-3, respectively. Analysis of mRNA from various tissues shows that flg-2 is expressed predominantly in skin, brain and lung.