Estrogen receptor-positive mammary tumorigenesis in TGFalpha transgenic mice progresses with progesterone receptor loss.

We characterized the novel NRL-transforming growth factor alpha (NRL-TGFalpha) transgenic mouse model in which growth factor - steroid receptor interactions were explored. The NRL promoter directs transgene expression to mammary ductal and alveolar cells and is nonresponsive to estrogen manipulations in vitro and in vivo. NRL-TGFalpha mice acquire proliferative hyperplasias as well as cystic and solid tumors. Quantitative transcript analysis revealed a progressive decrease in estrogen receptor alpha (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) mRNA levels with tumorigenesis. However, ER protein was evident in all lesion types and in surrounding stromal cells using immunohistochemistry. PR protein was identified in normal epithelial cells and in very few cells of small epithelial hyperplasias, but never in stromal or tumor cells. Prophylactic ovariectomy significantly delayed tumor development and decreased incidence. Finally, while heterozygous (+/-) p53 mice did not acquire mammary lesions, p53+/- mice carrying the NRL-TGFalpha transgene developed ER negative/PR negative undifferentiated carcinomas. These data demonstrate that unregulated TGFalpha expression in the mammary gland leads to oncogenesis that is dependent on ovarian steroids early in tumorigenesis. Resulting tumors resemble a clinical phenotype of ER+/PR-, and when combined with a heterozygous p53 genotype, ER-/PR-.

Dysregulation of mammary Stats 1,3 and 5 and PRL receptors by overexpression of TGFalpha.

Mammary TGFalpha overexpression results in delayed involution and eventually mammary cancer in transgenic mice. We hypothesized that STATs and PRL receptors (PRLR), critical regulators of mammary function, are altered in these animals and may contribute to this phenotype. We examined these factors late in the first pregnancy (d.18) and during normal involution (d.4 post-lactation) in WAP-TGFalpha transgenic mice and non-transgenic controls. Long form PRLR mRNA in WAP-TGFalpha glands at both pregnant d.18 and d.4 post-lactation was significantly reduced compared to controls, and PRLR-S3 failed to rise during involution. Total and pTyr STAT 1,3,5a and 5b also were altered. STAT 3 was higher at both times in WAP-TGFalpha glands. STAT 5a and 5b were lower at late pregnancy, but higher post-lactation; however, pTyr(694) STAT 5 was abnormally low at both times. Thus overexpression of TGFalpha has direct or indirect effects on both STATs and PRL responsiveness in vivo, which may reflect mechanisms of TGFalpha-induced mammary epithelial abnormalities.

A strategy to identify differentially expressed genes using representational difference analysis and cDNA arrays.

Representational difference analysis (RDA) combined with cDNA arrays is an effective approach to identify differentially expressed genes. To identify differentially expressed genes in c-Myc transgenic mouse liver, we compared the virtues of probing commercially available cDNA arrays with either radiolabeled cDNA pools or radiolabeled difference products (DP2) derived from RDA using c-Myc transgenic and normal mouse liver. Probing commercial and custom arrays with DP2 products led to the identification of transcripts of low abundance that were missed when the arrays were initially probed with PCR-amplified cDNA pools. Although DP2 probes also detected abundant transcripts that are highly differentially expressed, they failed to identify abundant transcripts with low differential expression that were detected with cDNA pools. The combined use of radiolabeled cDNA and DP2 products to probe arrays allows a more comprehensive identification of differentially expressed transcripts that are abundant or rare. Our method has the additional benefit of eliminating false-positive transcripts that lack true differential expression and frequently contaminate DP2 pools. Using this method we identified 16 differentially expressed genes in c-Myc transgenic liver, one of which is novel.

Highly invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder in a simian virus 40 T-antigen transgenic mouse model.

Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), a neoplasm of urinary bladder urothelial cells, generally appears in either of two forms, papillary non-invasive or invasive TCC, although intermediate forms can occur. Each has a distinctive morphology and clinical course. Altered expression of the p53 and pRb genes has been associated with the more serious invasive TCC, suggesting that the loss of activity of these tumor suppressor proteins may have a causal role in this disease. To test this hypothesis directly, transgenic mice were developed that expressed the simian virus 40 large T antigen (TAg) in urothelial cells under the control of the cytokeratin 19 gene (CK19) regulatory elements. In one CK19-TAg lineage, all transgenic mice developed highly invasive bladder neoplasms that resembled invasive human bladder TCCs. Stages of disease progression included development of carcinoma in situ, stromal invasion, muscle invasion, rapid growth, and, in 20% of affected mice, intravascular lung metastasis. Papillary lesions never were observed. Western blot analysis indicated that TAg was bound to both p53 and pRb, which has been shown to cause inactivation of these proteins. Our findings support suggestions that (i) inactivation of p53 and/or pRb constitutes a causal step in the etiology of invasive TCC, (ii) papillary and invasive TCC may have different molecular causes, and (iii) carcinoma in situ can represent an early stage in the progression to invasive TCC.

Cellular origin of regenerating parenchyma in a mouse model of severe hepatic injury.

Several treatments in rodents, including administration of the alkylating agent dipin, followed by two-thirds partial hepatectomy in mice combine destruction of liver parenchyma with hepatocyte mitoinhibition. These treatments induce proliferation of bile epithelial-like cells (termed oval cells), development of foci composed of small hepatocytes, and eventual replacement of damaged parenchyma by healthy hepatocytes. It has been proposed that these oval cells represent transitional cells in a nonhepatocytic liver facultative stem cell lineage that can give rise to the small hepatocyte foci, and that these foci eventually become confluent and replace liver parenchyma. In this study, we used in vivo cell lineage marking in genetically chimeric livers to test the hypothesis that hepatocytes can serve as the precursor cell type to the small hepatocyte foci that develop in mouse liver after treatment with dipin plus partial hepatectomy. Although we do not exclude the possibility that some small hepatocyte foci may be stem cell-derived, we demonstrate that hepatocyte-derived foci are present after dipin-induced liver damage in mice.

Hepatocyte transplantation in a model of toxin-induced liver disease: variable therapeutic effect during replacement of damaged parenchyma by donor cells.

To provide long-term therapy in patients with severe toxin-induced hepatic parenchymal damage, donor hepatocytes would need to replicate and replace a large portion of the damaged parenchyma. Using a mouse model developed to reproduce this type of hepatic injury, we found that hepatocyte transplantation only slightly improved survival after transplantation despite the fact that many non-survivors showed moderate liver repopulation by donor cells. Perhaps accounting for this outcome, donor parenchyma in non-survivors did not have typical lobular organization. These results indicate that the re-creation of functional parenchyma by transplanted hepatocytes requires time, during which donor cells proliferate and then establish normal parenchymal architecture.

Transforming growth factor alpha- and c-myc-induced mammary carcinogenesis in transgenic mice.

The growth factor transforming growth factor alpha (TGFalpha) and the nuclear transcription factor c-myc often are overexpressed by human breast cancer cells. To produce models of breast disease with these etiologies, mice were generated that carried TGF-alpha- or c-myc-encoding transgenes. Transgene targeting employed the whey acidic protein (WAP) gene promoter, which is expressed in pregnant and lactating mammary epithelial cells. Non-virgin WAP-TGFalpha transgenic mice displayed accelerated mammary development during pregnancy, delayed post-parturient mammary involution, a progressive increase in the number of hyperplastic alveolar nodules (HANs), and development of mammary carcinoma with a mean latency of 9 months. Non-virgin WAP-c-myc transgenic mice displayed accelerated mammary gland development during pregnancy and development of mammary carcinomas with a latency of 8 months. Bitransgenic mice carrying both WAP-TGFalpha and WAP-c-myc displayed a dramatic acceleration of tumor development. These models identify the overexpression of TGFalpha or c-myc as etiological factors in the development of mammary neoplasia and demonstrate the increased severity of disease when both molecular alterations are present in the same cell.

Expansion of Pdx1-expressing pancreatic epithelium and islet neogenesis in transgenic mice overexpressing transforming growth factor alpha.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The progenitor cells responsible for transforming growth factor (TGF)-alpha-induced pancreatic ductal metaplasia and neoplasia remain uncharacterized. During pancreatic development, differentiated cell types arise from ductal progenitor cells expressing the Pdx1 homeodomain transcription factor. The aims of this study were, first, to evaluate the role of Pdx1-expressing stem cells in MT-TGFalpha transgenic mice, and second, to further characterize cell proliferation and differentiation in this model. METHODS: To assess Pdx1 gene expression in normal and metaplastic epithelium, we performed in vivo reporter gene analysis using heterozygous Pdx1(lacZ/+) and bigenic Pdx1(lacZ/+)/MT-TGFalpha mice. RESULTS: Pdx1(lacZ/+)/MT-TGFalpha bigenics showed up-regulated Pdx1 expression in premalignant metaplastic ductal epithelium. In addition to Pdx1 gene activation, TGF-alpha-induced metaplastic epithelium demonstrated a pluripotent differentiation capacity, as evidenced by focal expression of Pax6 and initiation of islet cell neogenesis. The majority of Pdx1-positive epithelial cells showed no expression of insulin, similar to the pattern observed during embryonic development. CONCLUSIONS: Overexpression of TGF-alpha induces expansion of a Pdx1-expressing epithelium characterized by focal expression of Pax6 and initiation of islet neogenesis. These findings suggest that premalignant events induced by TGF-alpha in mouse pancreas may recapitulate a developmental program active during embryogenesis.

Altered differentiation of hepatocytes in a transgenic mouse model of hepatocarcinogenesis.

Transgenic mice carrying the SV40 T antigen (TAg) gene, which develop hepatocellular and biliary cell tumors by 4 mo of age, show ductular structures in the neonatal liver. Coexpression of c-myc with TAg increases the extent and persistence of ductular lesions and also accelerates tumor development. To analyze possible links between altered gene expression and cell differentiation and to determine the relationship between the ductular structures and tumor development in these mice, ductular cells in single (TAg) and bitransgenic (TAg x c-myc) mice were characterized for biliary and hepatocellular differentiation, transgene expression, and proliferation activity. The results show that the ductular cells in these transgenic mice have characteristics of biliary cells, including basement membrane formation, positive laminin staining, and bile duct-specific lectin (Dolichos biflorus agglutinin and peanut agglutinin) binding, and characteristics of hepatocytes, including albumin expression and ultrastructural features such as round nuclei with 1 or 2 nucleoli and well-developed cytoplasmic organelles. However, differences in transgene expression and cell proliferation between the ductular cells and nonductular hepatocytes were not apparent. Thus, the ductular cells could not be defined as tumor progenitor cells in these mouse livers. However, this model suggests that manipulation of gene expression can alter differentiation of hepatic parenchymal cells.

Interactive effects of c-myc and transforming growth factor alpha transgenes on liver tumor development in simian virus 40 T antigen transgenic mice.

To analyze the effects of c-myc and transforming growth factor alpha (TGFalpha) on hepatocarcinogenesis induced by simian virus 40 T antigen (TAg), livers from single and bitransgenic mice, 3 to 11 mice per line, were examined morphologically 1 to 8 weeks after birth. Mice carrying c-myc or TGFalpha alone exhibited centrilobular hypertrophy and increased apoptosis (c-myc mice only) of hepatocytes after 3 or 4 weeks of age, but no detectable changes in cell proliferation or proliferative lesions were observed in either line during the 8 weeks. Mice carrying TAg alone exhibited increased cell proliferation, apoptosis, and dysplasia of hepatocytes with notably high mitotic and apoptotic indices as major changes before development of putative preneoplastic lesions after 4 weeks of age and neoplastic lesions after 6 weeks. In bitransgenic mice coexpressing c-myc or TGFalpha with TAg, nonproliferative lesions and mitotic and apoptotic indices were similar to those in mice carrying TAg alone. In TAg x c-myc bitransgenic mice, however, both preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions developed sooner and grew more rapidly than those in TAg mice, whereas in TAg x TGFalpha bitransgenic mice, rapid tumor growth was the principle observation. Because of the effects of transgene coexpression, livers from TAg x c-myc and TAg x TGFalpha mice had multiple tumors as early as 3 and 6 weeks of age, respectively. The results indicate cooperative functions of c-myc and TGFalpha with TAg during development and/or growth of liver tumors in vivo.

Albumin gene expression during mouse odontogenesis.

Albumin protein is present in developing teeth of several species. Oligomer primers and cRNA probes specific for albumin were designed to perform RT-PCR, and for in situ hybridization, respectively. In situ hybridization failed to reveal albumin expression in any tooth cells, however, albumin PCR products were amplified from tissues adhering to the roots of developing teeth from four-week-old mice. It is concluded that this source is not the primary source of albumin protein found in developing enamel, because of the location and level of expression of albumin mRNA in periodontal tissue.

Inhibition of mammary gland involution is associated with transforming growth factor alpha but not c-myc-induced tumorigenesis in transgenic mice.

Deregulated expression of transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha) or c-myc has been implicated in the genesis of human breast cancer. To better characterize the role of these molecules in this disease, we generated transgenic mice that express TGF-alpha or c-myc under control of the mouse whey acidic protein (WAP) promoter. We then compared the resulting mammary gland neoplasia in these mice and in previously described mice expressing a metallothionein-driven TGF-alpha transgene. Nonvirgin female mice in all transgenic lineages developed mammary tumors with 100% incidence but variable latency. Among TGF-alpha lines, mean survival time correlated with the level of transgene expression, and the average life spans of high-expressing WAP-TGF-alpha and WAP-c-myc mice were similarly reduced. The majority of TGF-alpha-induced tumors were relatively well-differentiated adenomas and adenocarcinomas; in contrast, WAP-c-myc tumors were poorly differentiated, solid carcinomas with a minority of adenocarcinomas. Most TGF-alpha and all c-myc-induced tumors were transplantable, but lung metastases were infrequently observed in all transgenic lines. WAP-TGF-alpha-induced tumors, in marked contrast to those induced by WAP-c-myc, displayed frequent induction of cyclin D1 mRNA, suggesting that expression of this gene may complement that of TGF-alpha during mammary tumor development. Expression of TGF-alpha also induced precocious development of pregnant glands and delayed or inhibited mammary involution. As a result, multiparious MT-TGF-alpha and especially WAP-TGF-alpha females accumulated large numbers of hyperplastic alveolar nodules that resembled the more differentiated TGF-alpha-induced tumors. Finally, coexpression of WAP-c-myc and WAP-TGF-alpha transgenes markedly decreased tumor latency, increased tumor growth, and even induced mammary tumors in virgin female and male mice. These findings provide further evidence for the importance of deregulated TGF-alpha expression in multistage carcinogenesis, and they suggest that in the mammary gland the mechanism of TGF-alpha-induced transformation may depend on postlactational survival of differentiated epithelium. They also provide evidence of a potent tumorigenic collaboration between TGF-alpha and c-myc in mammary epithelium.

Hepatocarcinogenesis in transgenic mice.

Transgenic mouse models of altered hepatic gene expression have provided a new set of tools with which to study the molecular genesis of normal and pathological liver growth. Previously identified carcinogenic genomic changes (such as oncogene activation) can be tested for their transforming potency in liver, and the contribution to liver growth of genetic changes of unknown significance (such as expression of a growth factor) can be directly measured in vivo. Highly novel approaches also have become possible because of the liver's unique regenerative capacity following injury: introduction of cells from another mouse's liver into young AL-uPA mice has resulted in reconstitution of up to 80% of recipient liver by donor cells (Rhim et al., 1994). Use of immunotolerant mice and human donor cells in this approach should allow creation of mice carrying human livers. Finally, by combining transgenic and embryonic stem cell technologies, the latter allowing selective mutation or inactivation of desired genes, we now have the means to begin to answer many of the critical questions regarding mechanisms of liver growth regulation in the intact animal.

Replacement of diseased mouse liver by hepatic cell transplantation.

Adult liver has the unusual ability to fully regenerate after injury. Although regeneration is accomplished by the division of mature hepatocytes, the replicative potential of these cells is unknown. Here, the replicative capacity of adult liver cells and their medical usefulness as donor cells for transplantation were investigated by transfer of adult mouse liver cells into transgenic mice that display an endogenous defect in hepatic growth potential and function. The transplanted liver cell populations replaced up to 80 percent of the diseased recipient liver. These findings demonstrate the enormous growth potential of adult hepatocytes, indicating the feasibility of liver cell transplantation as a method to replace lost or diseased hepatic parenchyma.

Histologic characterization of hepatic carcinogenesis in transgenic mice expressing SV40 T-antigens.

The development of hepatic neoplasms was histologically characterized in transgenic mice that expressed an albumin enhancer-promoter/SV40 T-antigen fusion gene. At least five transgenic and three control mice were examined at monthly intervals over a 3-month period. At 1 month of age, five transgenic mice (two male, three female) and three controls (one male, two female) were examined. Five transgenic mice (two male, three female) and three controls (one male, two female) were examined at 2 months of age. Fourteen transgenic mice (12 male, two female) and three controls (two male, one female) were examined at 3 months of age. At 1 month of age, liver-to-body weight ratios of transgenic mice were increased nearly twofold as compared with controls. Histologically, livers from transgenic mice were characterized by dysplastic hepatocytes with marked variation in nucleus and cell size. At 2 months of age, livers from transgenic mice were 2.5 times larger than control livers and contained numerous 1-5-mm cystic spaces. Transgenic livers also contained multiple eosinophilic, basophilic, and clear foci, as well as cystic, hyperplastic bile ducts and biliary adenomas. At 3 months of age, transgenic livers were enlarged over eightfold as compared with controls and contained numerous cysts and solid masses up to 2 cm in diameter. Trabecular, glandular, and anaplastic hepatocellular carcinomas, as well as benign and malignant biliary neoplasms, were diagnosed. No metastasis was observed. Subcutaneous trabecular hepatocellular carcinomas developed in two of three syngeneic mice that had received transplants of a solid hepatic neoplasm, confirming the neoplastic behavior of these tumors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Regulation of fat and muscle development by transforming growth factor alpha in transgenic mice and in cultured cells.

Transgenic mice overexpressing transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha) under control of the metallothionein promoter had, on average, 20% reductions in body and carcass weights compared to nontransgenic littermates. This loss resulted from significant decreases in the comparative weights of bone, muscle, and especially fat. Transgenic epididymal fat pads were reduced by 40-80%, and total body fat content by 50%, relative to control animals. Distal hindlimb muscle weights were 20% below normal, and other skeletal muscles were visibly smaller in size. Weight reductions were accompanied by decreases in the cellularity of transgenic fat pads and muscles and by decreases in the number and area of striated muscle fibers. These findings were not obviously attributable to differences in metabolic rates since transgenic and control mice displayed similar levels of energy expenditure per unit lean body mass. The effects of TGF-alpha on the development of these tissues could be mimicked in culture for fat but not muscle. Thus, TGF-alpha did not inhibit the differentiation of the mouse skeletal myoblast cell line C2C12 as evidenced by the expression of muscle-specific actin and fusion to form multinucleated myotubes. However, TGF-alpha repressed the differentiation of the preadipocyte cell line 3T3-F442A in a dose-dependent and reversible manner as judged by morphological conversion and diminished expression of mRNAs encoding the adipocyte-specific markers adipsin and glycerophosphate dehydrogenase. This repression, which occurred without marked stimulation of proliferation, was incomplete even in the presence of high concentrations of growth factor. Despite its effects on adipose development, introduction of the metallothionein-TGF-alpha transgene into the ob/ob genetic background did not suppress the marked obesity characteristic of this mutation. Finally, endogenous TGF-alpha epidermal growth factor receptor mRNAs were detected in normal adipose tissue, suggesting that regulation of adipogenesis by this growth factor may be physiological.

Transforming growth factor alpha dramatically enhances oncogene-induced carcinogenesis in transgenic mouse pancreas and liver.

To characterize the effect(s) of transforming growth factor alpha (TGF alpha) during multistage carcinogenesis, we examined tumor development in pancreas and liver of transgenic mice that coexpressed TGF alpha with either viral (simian virus 40 T antigens [TAg]) or cellular (c-myc) oncogenes. In pancreas, TGF alpha itself was not oncogenic, but it nevertheless dramatically accelerated growth of tumors induced by either oncogene alone, thereby reducing the host life span up to 60%. Coexpression of TGF alpha and TAg produced an early synergistic growth response in the entire pancreas together with the more rapid appearance of preneoplastic foci. Coexpression of TGF alpha and c-myc also accelerated tumor growth in situ and produced transplantable acinar cell carcinomas whose rate of growth was TGF alpha dependent. In liver, expression of TGF alpha alone increased the incidence of hepatic cancer in aged mice. However, coexpression of TGF alpha with c-myc or TAg markedly reduced tumor latency and accelerated tumor growth. Significantly, expression of the TGF alpha and myc transgenes in hepatic tumors was induced up to 20-fold relative to expression in surrounding nonneoplastic liver, suggesting that high-level overexpression of these proteins acts as a major stimulus for tumor development. Finally, in both pancreas and liver, combined expression of TGF alpha and c-myc produced tumors with a more malignant (less differentiated) appearance than did expression of c-myc alone, consistent with an influence of TGF alpha upon the morphological character of c-myc-induced tumor progression. These findings demonstrate the importance of TGF alpha expression during multistage carcinogenesis in vivo and point to a major role for this growth factor as a potent stimulator of tumor growth.

Possible role of transforming growth factor alpha in the pathogenesis of Ménétrier's disease: supportive evidence form humans and transgenic mice.

Ménétrier's disease is an uncommon disorder of unknown etiology characterized by enlarged gastric folds with foveolar hyperplasia and cystic dilatation of gastric glands. Biochemical features that are seen frequently include hypoproteinemia, hypochlorhydria, and increased gastric mucus. Because transforming growth factor alpha (TGF alpha) is an epithelial cell mitogen that inhibits gastric acid secretion and increases gastric mucin content, we hypothesized that its altered expression might be involved in the pathogenesis of this disease. Therefore, we characterized TGF alpha immunoreactivity in the gastric mucosa of 4 patients with Ménétrier's disease. In contrast to the normal pattern of TGF alpha immunostaining in which TGF alpha appears most concentrated in parietal cells, there was intense staining in the majority of mucous cells in the gastric mucosa of patients with Ménétrier's disease. In one patient from whom sufficient fresh tissue was obtained to isolate RNA, expression of TGF alpha and the epidermal growth factor receptor was higher in the gastric mucosa relative to a normal control. In addition, metallothionein-TGF alpha transgenic mice, which overexpress TGF alpha in gastric mucosa, show a number of features characteristic of Ménétrier's disease. These include foveolar hyperplasia and glandular cystic dilatation, increased gastric neutral mucin staining, and reduced basal and histamine-stimulated rates of acid production. Taken together, observations derived from the human material and correlation with data from a transgenic mouse model support an important role for TGF alpha in the pathogenesis of Ménétrier's disease.

DNA rearrangement causes hepatocarcinogenesis in albumin-plasminogen activator transgenic mice.

Hepatocyte-directed production of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) in transgenic mice is hepatotoxic. Infrequently, hepatocytes arise that do not express uPA, due to physical loss of transgene DNA, and these cells clonally repopulate the entire liver within 3 months of birth. Surprisingly, hepatic tumors appear in these mice beginning at 8 months of age despite the fact that uPA is not oncogenic or genotoxic. Analysis of the transgene locus reveals that tumors arise only from a particular subclass of transgene-deficient cells in which the entire transgene array, and possibly a significant amount of flanking DNA, is deleted. Considering that all transgene-deficient regenerative nodules undergo extensive replication but only a subset gives rise to tumors, we propose that loss of genomic DNA, not mitogenesis per se, is a primary carcinogenic determinant in this model of hepatocarcinogenesis.

Odontogenic tumors in mice carrying albumin-myc and albumin-rats transgenes.

Odontogenic tumors that produce abnormal tooth-like structures are repeatedly observed in mandibles of mice that carry both albumin-myc and albumin-ras transgenes. The earliest lesions appear among the periodontal ligament mesenchymal cells, but later lesions include an epithelial component. Subsequent tumor development recapitulates the process of normal tooth formation, which requires multiple sequential cell signals, and results in cell differentiation, matrix secretion, and mineralization. Tumor cells with epithelial morphology produce ras oncoprotein, consistent with an epithelial origin of these tumors. As albumin regulatory sequences direct oncogene expression in these mice, our findings also suggest that some of the albumin present in normal teeth may be locally produced and have a role in tooth mineral formation. The reproducibility of this phenotype makes these mice an excellent model for studies of both normal and neoplastic odontogenesis.