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Journal of Virology, February 2001, p. 1816-1823, Vol. 75, No. 4
Departments of
Pathology1 and Molecular Biology and
Microbiology,3 Medical Scientist
Training Program,4 and Graduate Program
in Immunology,2 Tufts University School of
Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111
Received 17 August 2000/Accepted 20 November 2000
Abelson murine leukemia virus (Ab-MLV) encodes the v-Abl protein
tyrosine kinase and induces transformation of immortalized fibroblast
lines and pre-B cells. Temperature-sensitive mutations affecting the
kinase domain of the protein have demonstrated that the kinase activity
is absolutely required for transformation. Despite this requirement,
mutations affecting other regions of v-Abl modulate transformation
activity. The SH2 domain and the highly conserved FLVRES motif within
it form a phosphotyrosine-binding pocket that is required for
interactions between the kinase and cellular substrates. To understand
the impact of SH2 alterations on Ab-MLV-mediated transformation, we
studied the Ab-MLV mutant P120/R273K. This mutant encodes a v-Abl
protein in which the
0022-538X/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.75.4.1816-1823.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Temperature-Sensitive Transformation by an Abelson
Virus Mutant Encoding an Altered SH2 Domain

and
B5 arginine at the base of the
phosphotyrosine-binding pocket has been replaced by a lysine.
Unexpectedly, infection of NIH 3T3 or pre-B cells with P120/R273K
revealed a temperature-dependent transformation phenotype. At 34°C,
P120/R273K transformed about 10-fold fewer cells than wild-type virus
of equivalent titer; at 39.5°C, 300-fold fewer NIH 3T3 cells were
transformed and pre-B cells were refractory to transformation.
Temperature-dependent transformation was accompanied by decreased
phosphorylation of Shc, a protein that interacts with the v-Abl SH2 and
links the protein to Ras, and decreased induction of c-Myc expression.
These data suggest that alteration of the FLVRES pocket affects the ability of v-Abl to interact with at least some of its substrates in a
temperature-dependent fashion and identify a novel type of temperature-sensitive Abelson virus.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: SC315, Tufts
University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02111. Phone: (617) 636-2143. Fax: (617) 636-0337. E-mail:
nrosenbe{at}opal.tufts.edu.
Present address: Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and
Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02215.
Present address: Department of Hematology and Oncology, Beth
Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215.
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