Journal of Virology, October 2000, p. 9479-9487, Vol. 74, No. 20
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

andDepartments of Pathology1 and Molecular Biology and Microbiology,4 Graduate Program in Immunology,3 and Medical Scientist Training Program,2 Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111
Received 2 February 2000/Accepted 17 July 2000
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ABSTRACT |
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In many tumor systems, analysis of cells for loss of heterozygosity
(LOH) has helped to clarify the role of tumor suppressor genes in
oncogenesis. Two important tumor suppressor genes, p53 and
the Ink4a/Arf locus, play central roles in the multistep
process of Abelson murine leukemia virus (Ab-MLV) transformation. p53 and the p53 regulatory protein, p19Arf, are required for the apoptotic crisis that characterizes the progression of primary transformed pre-B
cells to fully malignant cell lines. To search for other tumor
suppressor genes which may be involved in the Ab-MLV transformation process, we used endogenous proviral markers and simple-sequence length
polymorphism analysis to screen Abelson virus-transformed pre-B cells
for evidence of LOH. Our survey reinforces the role of the p53-p19
regulatory pathway in transformation; 6 of 58 cell lines tested had
lost sequences on mouse chromosome 4, including the
Ink4a/Arf locus. Consistent with this pattern, a high
frequency of primary pre-B-cell transformants derived from
Ink4a/Arf +/
mice became established cell lines. In
addition, half of them retained the single copy of the locus when the
transformation process was complete. These data demonstrate that a
single copy of the Ink4a/Arf locus is not sufficient to
fully mediate the effects of these genes on transformation.
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INTRODUCTION |
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Abelson murine leukemia virus (Ab-MLV) is a rapidly transforming retrovirus that can induce lymphomas in vivo and transform pre-B cells and immortalized fibroblast cell lines in vitro (reviewed in references 39 and 40). The virus carries the v-abl oncogene, and the protein tyrosine kinase it encodes is required for transformation. Despite the strong growth-stimulatory signal provided by the v-Abl protein, Ab-MLV-induced transformation is a multistep process both in vivo and in vitro (16, 17, 59, 60), suggesting that multiple cellular changes are required before a cell becomes fully malignant. Analysis of primary pre-B-cell transformants in vitro has revealed that the p53 tumor suppressor gene and the p19Arf gene, the product of which regulates p53 function (reviewed in references 35 and 46), are intimately involved in the process by which these cells evolve to become fully malignant established cell lines (37, 52, 54). About 50% of all transformants contain mutations affecting p53 (52), and many others express very low levels of the p19Arf protein, a molecule that stabilizes p53, thereby enhancing its function (37).
The factors involved in tumor progression in the Ab-MLV system have received limited attention, and most studies using Ab-MLV or other oncogenic retroviruses have focused on oncogene cooperativity (reviewed in reference 42). However, in many other types of tumors, dominant growth-stimulatory signals generated by oncogenes cooperate with the loss of growth-suppressive signals provided by tumor suppressor genes (26, 45). Alterations in the p53 and NF1 tumor suppressor genes have been reported in some retrovirus-induced tumors (3-6, 53, 56, 61). Other studies have identified chromosomal regions displaying loss of heterozygosity (LOH), a feature associated with the presence of tumor suppressor genes (11, 14, 23). For example, a fraction of Moloney murine leukemia virus (Mo-MLV)-induced thymomas (25) and mammary tumors arising in mouse mammary tumor virus transgenic mice (9) have lost sequences on several chromosomes. Similar changes have also been noted in radiation-induced hematopoietic tumors in mice (8, 30, 32, 47).
The large number of endogenous nonecotropic proviruses carried by inbred mice provide polymorphic markers that facilitate such an analysis (15, 49). Most inbred mice carry between 30 and 60 of these proviruses, and their chromosomal locations have been mapped in many inbred mouse strains (15). In addition, usually more than 60% of the endogenous nonecotropic proviruses carried in the F1 progeny from the cross of two inbred strains will be present in single copy, making LOH detection straightforward. When coupled with PCR-based analysis of simple-sequence length polymorphisms (SSLPs) (10), rapid assessment of the genome for LOH can be achieved.
To search for common deletions in Ab-MLV-transformed pre-B cells, we
surveyed transformants derived from the bone marrow of three different
F1 crosses, using endogenous proviruses and SSLP genetic
markers. These analyses revealed that 7 of 58 cell lines had lost
proviral and SSLP markers present on chromosome 4. Although the
isolates lost different amounts of information, six of the seven had
lost sequences in the vicinity of the Ink4a/Arf locus which
maps to this chromosome (36). Loss of chromosome 4 sequences may reflect selection against cells expressing these products; analysis
of transformants from Ink4a/Arf +/
mice revealed that a
higher frequency of these cells became established more rapidly than
cells derived from wild-type littermates. These data suggest that LOH
affecting p19Arf can have a significant effect on
transformation in the Ab-MLV system and raise the possibility that
similar events are important in other types of tumors.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Cell lines. Ab-MLV-transformed pre-B-cell lines were maintained in RPMI 1640 medium supplemented to contain 10% fetal calf serum and 50 µM 2-mercaptoethanol. The CXCE (BALB/cByJ × Cast/Ei)F1 transformed pre-B cells were derived by infecting bone marrow with Ab-MLV P160 as described previously (13, 41). The Ab-MLV-transformed CXXB (BALB/Ann.xid × C57BL/10)F1 and CXCB (BALB/cByJ × CBA/Tufts)F1 pre-B cells were derived in a similar fashion and were characterized previously (27). All of these transformants were fully transformed when they were analyzed. The independent origin of all cell lines was confirmed by either the structure of the Igh locus (27) or Southern analysis of the Ab-MLV integration site (data not shown). Ink4a/Arf null mice (44) that had been backcrossed to C57BL/6J mice for five generations were used in some experiments. Primary transformants were plated in 24-well plates in RPMI 1640 supplemented to contain 20% fetal calf serum and 50 µM 2-mercaptoethanol 10 days later. The cells were monitored for growth and viability; when cells filled the well, half of them were transferred to a new well. When viability exceeded 90% and the cells could be subcultured on a regular basis, they were considered to be established (37, 54).
Nucleic acid analysis.
Proviral mapping was carried out as
described by Coffin and coworkers (49, 51), with minor
modifications. High-molecular-weight DNAs (58) were digested
with EcoRI or PvuII (New England Biolabs) and
fractionated through 0.8% agarose-0.5× Tris-borate-EDTA gels at 75 V
for 22 to 24 h. The ethidium bromide-stained gels were cut in half
to facilitate handling and then treated with 1.5 M NaCl-0.5 N NaOH for
30 min and 1.5 M NaCl-1 M Tris-Cl (pH 8) for 30 min. The gels were
dried on a slab gel dryer using house vacuum without heat for 1 to
2 h until they were flat and then dried for an additional 30 min
at 60°C. The dried gels were treated with 5× SSPE (0.9 M NaCl, 0.05 M NaH2PO4, 0.005 M EDTA [pH 7.4]) and were
usually frozen at
20°C for up to 1 month before use. The dried gels
were hybridized with radiolabeled JS4, JS5, or JS6/10 oligonucleotide
(49) in 5× SSPE-0.1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-10
µg of salmon sperm DNA per ml for 20 to 24 h at 62°C. The gels
then were washed four times in 2× SSC (0.3 M NaCl plus 0.03 M sodium
citrate)-0.2% SDS at room temperature for 15 min and twice at 62°C
for 30 min in the same solution. The gels were air dried and exposed to
Kodak XAR-5 film at
70°C with an intensifier screen for 5 to 14 days. Gels were stripped of oligonucleotide by soaking for 30 min each
in 1.5 M NaCl-0.5 N NaOH and 1.5 M NaCl-1 M Tris-HCl (pH 8). For
detection of the Ink4a/Arf locus, digested DNAs were
fractionated through agarose gels, transferred to nylon membranes, and
hybridized with a p16Ink4a exon 1
or p19Arf
exon 1
probe (37). Blots were exposed to Kodak XAR-5 film
at
70°C with an intensifier screen.
PCR analysis.
For SSLP analyses, genomic DNA was amplified
using primers described in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) Mouse Genome Database (http://www.genome.wi.mit.edu) and the
conditions recommended by the manufacturer (Research Genetics).
Briefly, high-molecular-weight DNA was amplified in reactions
containing 200 ng of DNA, 200 µM each deoxynucleoside triphosphate,
0.4 µM primers, 1.25 U of Taq, 50 mM KCl, 10 mM Tris-HCl
(pH 8.3), 1.5 mM MgCl2, and 0.001% gelatin. After a 3-min
incubation at 94°C, the reactions were amplified for 25 cycles of
15 s at 94°C, 3 min at 55°C, and 4 min at 72°C. After the
final cycle, the reactions were cooled to 4°C. The products were
fractionated through 12% polyacrylamide gels and visualized by
ethidium bromide staining. Mice and cell lines derived from the
Ink4a/Arf background were genotyped by using PCR with three
primers, two Ink4a locus primers (5'-TCCCTCTACTTTTTCTTCTGAC-3' and
5'-CGGAACGCAAATATCGCAC-3') and a primer that recognized
sequences unique to the targeted allele (5'-CTAGTGAGACGTGCTACTTC-3'). Amplification conditions were
similar to those used for the SSLP analysis except that the primers
were used at a concentration of 20 µM and 2.5 U of Taq was
used. The DNAs were amplified for 35 cycles of 1 min at 94°C, 1 min
at 55°C, and 1 min at 72°C. After a 10-min extension at 72°C, the
reactions were cooled to 4°C and the products were analyzed by
agarose gel electrophoresis. p19Arf exon 1
sequences were
amplified using the primers 5'-CGTGGAGCAAAGATGGGC-3' and
5'-CCGTCCTGCTTCTACCTCG-3'; exon 2 sequences were amplified
using the primers 5'-ACATAGGGCTTCTTTCTTGGGTCC-3' and
5'-GGACCAACTATGCTCACCTGGGC-3'. DNAs were amplified in
reactions containing 200 ng of DNA, 200 µM each deoxynucleoside
triphosphate, 25 µM primers, 1.25 U of Taq, 50 mM KCl, 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.3), 1.5 mM MgCl2, and 0.001% gelatin.
For exon 1
, the samples were amplified for 29 cycles of 1 min at
94°C, 1.5 min at 60°C, and 1.5 min at 72°C, followed by a 10-min
extension at 72°C. The same conditions were used for exon 2 except
that the annealing temperature was 63°C. After the final cycle, the
reactions were cooled to 4°C. The PCR products were cloned into the
TOPO cloning vector (Invitrogen) and sequenced on an ABI 373-Stretch
machine (Perkin-Elmer) at the DNA Facility, Department of Physiology,
Tufts University. The sequence of exon 1
and exon 2 of the
Ink4a/Arf locus in Cast/Ei mice was determined by amplifying
these sequences from liver DNA.
Protein analysis. Cells were lysed in a buffer containing 1% NP-40, 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), 0.1 mM NaF, 0.1 mM sodium vanadate, 100 µM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, NaCl (2 µg/ml), and leupeptin (1 µg/ml). The proteins were resolved by electrophoresis through SDS-polyacrylamide gels and transferred to polyvinylidene difluoride membranes (Millipore). The blots were probed with anti-p19Arf (34) and anti-p16Ink4a and anti-cdk4 (SC1207 and SC260, respectively; Santa Cruz Biotechnologies) antibodies and developed using a chemiluminescence kit (Tropix) according to the manufacturer's instructions.
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RESULTS |
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Several transformants show loss of proviral markers on chromosome
4.
Endogenous nonecotropic proviruses were used as genetic markers
to assess the chromosomal constitution of Ab-MLV-transformed pre-B-cell
lines. The CXXB panel, derived from (BALB/Ann.xid × C57BL10)F1 mice, and the CXCB panel, from (BALB/cByJ × CBA/Tufts)F1 mice, were screened with oligonucleotide
probes that detect the three different classes of endogenous
nonecotropic proviruses (49). These crosses provide at least
one informative polymorphic marker on all mouse chromosomes except 6 and 17 (Table 1). In both cell panels,
chromosomes 6 and 17 carry a single nonpolymorphic provirus, and 33 other nonpolymorphic proviruses are present elsewhere in the genome.
Although loss of a single copy of a nonpolymorphic provirus is revealed
by a decreased signal, subtle differences in the hybridization of many
of the proviruses make it difficult to evaluate the signal intensity
accurately. Thus, while no clear cases of loss of one copy of a
nonpolymorphic provirus were identified, analyses of the nonpolymorphic
proviruses were not included when LOH was assessed.
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SSLP analysis reveals loss of all or most of one copy of chromosome
4 in some transformants.
To obtain a clearer picture of types of
deletions involved in the loss of the endogenous proviral markers,
primers that detect SSLPs located near the different proviruses were
used to analyze DNAs from the cell panels (10). None of the
cell lines that retained all of the proviral markers found on
chromosome 4 showed evidence of deletion. However, six of seven cell
lines that had lost chromosome 4 proviral markers had lost SSLP markers
mapping to the region occupied by the proviral markers. P5C5, 511-5, 511-13, 511-32, and M8 cells, which had lost proviral markers from the BALB/c-inherited copy, had also lost all of the SSLP markers tested from this copy of chromosome 4 (Fig. 2),
suggesting that this chromosome was probably completely deleted. P6
cells retained three SSLP markers located on proximal chromosome 4 but
had lost two others which map to the central and distal regions (Fig.
2), demonstrating that a minimum of 16 cM and a maximum of 31 cM of chromosome 4 sequences are retained. F18 cells retained all 15 SSLP
markers tested. When considered with information from the proviral
mapping, these data suggest that F18 cells may have lost a maximum of
about 2 cM from the central portion of the chromosome. No evidence of
marker loss affecting the second copy of chromosome 4 was observed in
any of these cells. Interestingly, loss of markers affecting large
regions of this chromosome, including those involved in the Ab-MLV
transformants, was also observed in studies of Mo-MLV- and
radiation-induced thymomas (8, 25, 30, 32).
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Loss of Ink4a/Arf expression in the Ab-MLV transformants. The p19Arf protein, encoded by the Ink4a/Arf locus, is a tumor suppressor already known to play an important role in the Ab-MLV transformation process (37). The Ink4a/Arf locus is located on chromosome 4, approximately 42 cM from the centromere in the same region as Pmv23 (Fig. 2) (36), and sequences lost in six of the seven cell lines missing chromosome 4 markers should include the locus. Although the F18 cell line is missing Pmv23, two SSLP markers which map between Pmv23 and the Ink4a/Arf locus are retained in this cell line (data not shown). Two patterns of Ink4a/Arf expression have been identified in Ab-MLV-transformed pre-B cells. Transformants which express wild-type p53 have very low to undetectable levels of Ink4a/Arf locus products; consistent with the negative effect of p53 on the locus (38, 48), transformants which have acquired p53 mutations usually express abundant p16Ink4a and p19Arf (37).
To determine if the pattern of Ink4a/Arf expression could be correlated to LOH involving chromosome 4, the presence of p16Ink4a and p19Arf was analyzed by using Western blotting with antibodies directed against p16Ink4a and p19Arf. Because expression of these proteins usually correlates with p53 status, the cells were screened for sensitivity of
-irradiation-induced apoptosis, a response that
depends on the presence of wild-type p53 in Ab-MLV-transformed pre-B
cells (37, 52). Transformants from all of the cell panels, including those which displayed LOH involving chromosome 4, as well as
lysates from NIH 3T3 cells, which do not express these proteins, and
the erythroleukemia cell line MEL, which expresses readily detectable
Ink4a/Arf locus products (36), were examined. Consistent with earlier studies, cell lines which expressed mutant forms of p53, as represented by the P29 cell line, expressed readily detectable Ink4a/Arf locus products (Fig.
4). All of the cell lines which had lost
chromosome 4 sequences expected to include the Ink4a/Arf
locus failed to express p19Arf, and all of these expressed wild-type
p53 (data not shown). However, two of these cell lines, P5C5 and M8,
expressed p16Ink4a. Expression of p16Ink4a in the absence of p19Arf has
been observed in about 5% of Ab-MLV-transformed pre-B-cell lines
(37).
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At least one copy of the Ink4a/Arf locus is retained in
all CXCE cell lines.
The protein analysis revealed that many of
the cell lines, including those which had lost chromosome 4 sequences,
failed to express Ink4a/Arf locus products. This phenotype
is common in Ab-MLV-transformed cells and could suggest that these
sequences have been deleted from both copies of chromosome 4 in the
transformants. Small deletions could easily have escaped detection in
the mapping study because the markers closest to the locus are still
several centimorgans proximal and distal, respectively. Homozygous
deletion of Ink4a/Arf has been observed in a number of human
tumors (22, 31, 33). To examine this possibility, DNAs from
the CXCE panel were examined by Southern blotting (Fig.
5A). All of the cell lines retained at
least one copy of the locus, suggesting that other mechanisms are
responsible for the pattern of expression.
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probe (Fig. 5B), and digestion with PstI revealed an RFLP
that could be detected with a p19Arf exon 1
probe (data
not shown). Analysis of the CXCE panel revealed that each of the cell
lines which had lost chromosome 4 sequences had lost the BALB/c-derived
copies of both p16Ink4a and p19Arf. None of the
other cell lines from this panel had lost these sequences. These data
suggest that LOH involving Ink4a/Arf sequences occurs in
about 10% of the transformants. However, because about 50% of all
transformants down-modulate expression of the Ink4a/Arf
locus (37), deletion does not appear to be the major pathway
by which expression of these sequences is controlled.
In many instances, loss of one copy of a tumor suppressor gene is
accompanied by mutation of the second copy. To determine if mutations
affecting p19Arf sequences were common in transformants retaining a single copy of these sequences, PCR was used to amplify exon 1
and exon 2 sequences from 511-5, 511-13, and 511-32, three of
the CXCE cell lines that retained the Cast/Ei copy of the
Ink4a/Arf locus. The sequences of exon 1
and exon 2 were
also amplified from Cast/Ei liver DNA. Comparison of the Cast/Ei exon
1
sequence to that of DBA mice, considered to represent the
wild-type sequence of laboratory mouse strains (62),
revealed two nucleotide substitutions in noncoding sequence. One of
these, G39C, was in the leader region of the mRNA; the second was in
the intron 3' of exon 1
. Analysis of exon 2 sequences revealed the
presence of two nucleotide substitutions within the coding region of
exon 2 in the Cast/Ei gene. One of these, G292C, does not affect the
sequence of p16Ink4a but results in substitution of a glutamine for a
glutamic acid in p19Arf. The second, C487G, results in the substitution
of a tryptophan for a cysteine in p19Arf and the substitution of a
valine for a leucine in p16Ink4a. The sequences obtained from all three
cell lines were identical to those obtained from the Cast/Ei liver DNA.
These data indicate that mutations which affect the coding sequence of
p19Arf do not commonly account for the absence of protein expression.
Loss of a single copy of the Ink4a/Arf locus
predisposes to Ab-MLV transformation.
Analyses of the transformed
cell lines suggest that the presence of a single copy of the
Ink4a/Arf locus could be sufficient to influence the
transformation process. Complete loss of the locus allows primary
transformants to bypass the apoptotic crisis characteristic of
Ab-MLV-induced pre-B-cell transformation (37). To determine
if loss of one copy of the locus affects transformation, bone marrow
from Ink4a/Arf
/
, +/
, and +/+ littermates was infected with Ab-MLV and plated in soft agar (41). When primary
transformants were scored 10 days later, consistent differences in
colony frequency that correlated with genotype were not observed (data
not shown). Primary transformants represent the first stage in the
Ab-MLV transformation process (37, 54). Expansion in liquid
medium, the second stage in the process, is marked by an apoptotic
crisis; only a fraction of primary transformants from normal mice
survive this phase and become fully established cell lines. As expected (37), when primary transformants from Ink4a/Arf
null animals were plated in liquid medium, all of them established
rapidly; only 15 to 20% of those from +/+ litter mates became
established. This pattern is similar to that obtained with primary
transformants derived from other strains of normal mice
(54). Primary transformants derived from
Ink4a/Arf +/
mice displayed an intermediate pattern. All
24 primary transformants became established in one experiment, and 21 of 24 were established in a second experiment. In addition, the
apoptotic crisis characteristic of the transformation process and the
time required for the cells to become established was less than that
required for cells derived from normal mice. Analyses of 16 established
transformants derived from heterozygous animals revealed that eight,
including the representatives shown (Fig. 6B), still retained the single,
nontargeted copy of the locus. These data demonstrate that
heterozygosity at the Ink4a/Arf locus confers a selective
advantage to Ab-MLV transformants.
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DISCUSSION |
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Our analysis of chromosomal markers in three panels of Ab-MLV-transformed pre-B cells suggests that loss of sequences on chromosome 4 is an important but not obligate step in the transformation process. Deletions affecting this chromosome were the only consistent feature detected in the 58 cell lines studied. The cell panels provided at least one polymorphic proviral marker on all chromosomes except 6 and 17, and the majority of cell lines retained most of the markers. Although our survey did not screen a large number of markers on all chromosomes, LOH does not appear to be a common feature of Ab-MLV transformation. A similar conclusion was reached in a study of Mo-MLV-induced thymomas (25). A number of other mouse tumors, including hepatocellular carcinomas (29), lung carcinomas (18), insulinomas (11), and chemically induced thymomas (63), also show similar low frequencies of allelic loss at different chromosomal sites. However, radiation-induced lymphomas display much higher frequencies of allelic loss (8, 30, 32, 47), suggesting that both the tumor type and the way in which the tumor is induced affect LOH.
Other investigators have examined Ab-MLV transformants and tumor cells for the presence of chromosomal abnormalities that can be correlated with the development of a fully malignant phenotype (1, 7, 24). One study noted a deletion affecting a minimum of about 10 cM involving the region 15 and 25 cM from the centromere of chromosome 13 in three tumorigenic clones (7). This region is proximal to Xmv13 and Pmv9, the two chromosome 13 proviral markers analyzed in the CXXB panel, and neither of these proviruses was deleted in any of the cell lines. Indeed, the region lost in two of the three clones (7) should include the Xmv13 provirus. Other analyses of Ab-MLV transformants, Ab-MLV-induced thymic tumors, and BCR/ABL-induced murine tumors have noted the presence of trisomy 5, X-chromosome breaks, and amplification of sequences on chromosomes 12, 14, and 17 (1, 7, 57). Although the proviral mapping technique used here is not designed to readily detect amplified sequences, none of the proviral fragments appeared to be dramatically overrepresented, suggesting that amplifications may not be a prominent feature of in vitro-derived transformants. Indeed, in our study and those of others (1, 7, 24), the pattern that emerges is consistent with the idea that many of the transformants retain a diploid karyotype.
Cells in the CXXB panel have lost several proviral markers that are not affected in the CXCB and CXCE cell lines. For example, even though about 60% of the CXXB cells were missing Xmv31, a chromosome 10 provirus, no chromosome 10 losses were observed in the 30 CXCB and CXCE cell lines analyzed. In addition, SSLP mapping failed to reveal evidence of marker loss in the vicinity of Xmv31 in the CXCE cell lines. Similarly, even though all of the CXXB cell lines had lost Mpmv18, this provirus was not lost in the CXCB panel. All of the proviral markers affected in the CXXB cross except those mapping to chromosome 4 and the Xmv14 provirus on chromosome 14 are inherited from the BALB/Ann.xid parent. Perhaps these losses reflect segregation of these proviruses in the BALB/Ann.xid background. Unfortunately, DNA from parents used to generate the F1 mice from which the CXXB panel was derived is not available. Thus, even though the proviruses affected in the cell lines are retained by BALB/Ann.xid mice (data not shown), the status of these loci in the particular female mouse used in the CXXB mating from which the cell lines were derived cannot be determined. While changes that are absolutely required for transformation should be present in samples from independent sources, changes unique to cell lines from a particular cross could reflect effects of the genetic background of the strains. Further analyses would be required to determine if different sets of genes are activated or inactivated in particular strain combinations.
Chromosome 4 has been identified as a target of LOH in several murine lymphoma models (8, 25, 30, 32). However, because the deletions are very large in all these cases, implicating a particular gene has not been possible. In a similar vein, most of the deletions identified here encompass very large amounts of chromosome 4. An exception is the F18 cell line. However, this deletion is based on the loss of a single proviral marker and may not reflect a deletion of other chromosomal sequence; loss of proviral sequences via homologous long terminal repeat-based recombination has been observed at a low frequency (43, 50, 55), raising the possibility that cellular sequences may not be missing. SSLP mapping data failed to reveal additional deletions and demonstrated that sequences lying between Pmv31 and the Ink4a/Arf locus are retained in F18 cells. Nonetheless, most of the chromosome 4 deletions in all the lymphoma systems suggest that loss of sequences in the vicinity of the Ink4a/Arf locus (8, 30, 32) and loss of the p73 gene which maps to distal chromosome 4 may be important (20).
Although p73 expression and function have not been studied in
Ab-MLV-transformed cells, the Ink4a/Arf locus is known to be important in Ab-MLV transformation (37). p19Arf can trigger apoptosis in Ab-MLV transformants that retain wild-type p53, and Ink4a/Arf locus deletion allows primary transformants to
bypass the apoptotic crisis characteristic of the transformation
process (37). Indeed, one pathway leading to full
transformation involves down-regulation of p19Arf expression. Analyses
of transformation using cells from Ink4a/Arf +/
mice,
coupled with the mapping studies, suggest that LOH involving the
Ink4a/Arf locus can facilitate this process. Accelerated
tumor development has also been observed in Eµ-Myc transgenic mice
that are hemizygous for the Arf locus (12),
raising the possibility that the Arf locus may be regulated in this fashion in a variety of tumor systems.
LOH can reveal the presence of recessive mutations affecting tumor suppressor genes. However, sequence analyses of p19Arf sequences in three of the cell lines that retain a single copy of the locus failed to reveal mutations. In addition, analysis of seven transformants derived from Msh2 null mice and from two transformants derived from p53 null mice revealed that p19Arf sequences are not mutated in these cells, even though the transformants from Msh2 null animals are unable to mediate DNA mismatch repair and display a high frequency of p53 mutations (54; J. Jenab-Wolcott and N. Rosenberg, unpublished data). Thus, mutations affecting coding sequence do not appear to be a common mechanism by which p19Arf expression and function is modulated in Ab-MLV transformants.
Cells which must inactivate only a single copy of p19Arf display a selective growth advantage and have a higher probability of becoming dominant within a population. Neither mutation nor large deletions which remove both copies of the locus appear to be the principal way by which this is achieved in the Ab-MLV system, and DNase sensitivity experiments suggest that differences in chromatin structure are not involved (A. Halgren and N. Rosenberg, unpublished data). Methylation of sequences upstream of the gene could be important; methylation correlates with decreased expression of Ink4a, Arf, or the closely linked p15Ink4b gene in some cases (2, 19, 21, 28, 31, 33, 38). Because all stages in the transformation process can be followed closely in the Ab-MLV model, the way in which altered expression of p19Arf is orchestrated in these cells and the possible role played by de novo methylation can be readily assessed. In addition, because p19Arf expression is altered in a wide range of tumors, such analyses are likely to shed light on a general mechanism of oncogenesis.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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This work represents equal contributions of the first two authors.
We are grateful to Peter Brodeur for supplying the CXXB and CXCB DNAs and to John Coffin, Jonathan Stoye, and Wayne Frankel for assistance with the proviral mapping and for useful discussions.
This work was supported by grant CA 33771 from the NIH.
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FOOTNOTES |
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* 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 Microbiology, Columbia University
College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032.
Present address: Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's
Hospital, Boston, MA 02115.
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