Possible collaboration between c-fos and c-myc proto-oncogene products in in vivo lymphomagenesis.
Transgenic mice carrying the exogenous c-myc gene under regulation of the Ig enhancer (Ig-c-myc) were mated with mice carrying exogenous c-fos gene under control of the H-2Kb promoter (H2-c-fos) to examine their functional collaboration in in vivo lymphomagenesis. Two of the 33 (c-fos x c-myc) mice developed pre-B cell lymphomas within 22 weeks of age. None of the other F1 progeny expressing c-fos or c-myc alone showed malignant change within 14 months of age, suggesting that the exogenous c-fos and c-myc collaborate in in vivo lymphomagenesis. The exogenous c-myc RNA was overexpressed in the lymphomas, but the amount of exogenous c-fos RNA was not affected, suggesting that the large abundance of c-myc protein is a prerequisite for lymphoma onset or progression and c-fos protein plays a complementary role. C-fos protein induced immunodeficiency in the (c-fos x c-myc) mice like H2-c-fos mice. Natural killer cell activity of (c-fos x c-myc) mice was partially impaired. Therefore, these lymphomas may be a consequence of the synergism of two independent actions caused by the exogenous c-myc (lymphomagenesis) and the exogenous c-fos (low NK activity) in (c-fos x c-myc) mice.
Takao
S
S
Department of Immunology, ICMR, Kobe University School of Medicine, Japan.
Sakai
N
N
Aizawa
S
S
Tokuhisa
T
T
D000818:Animals; D015870:Gene Expression; D016762:Genes, fos; D016259:Genes, myc; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics
D012313:RNA