title: Transformation of normal rat kidney (NRK) cells by an infectious retrovirus carrying a synthetic rat type alpha transforming growth factor gene.
abstract: We synthesized a gene for rat type alpha transforming growth factor (TGF-alpha) consisting of the leader sequence and the sequence coding for the mature 50-amino acid peptide without the C-terminal processed region. This gene was inserted into the retrovirus vector pSW272, which is derived from spleen necrosis virus, to obtain an infectious recombinant virus carrying the rat TGF-alpha gene. This recombinant virus can infect normal rat kidney (NRK) cells and allow these cells to grow in soft agar in the presence of TGF-beta. Transformed cells isolated from colonies grown in soft agar contain an integrated form of the recombinant virus and secrete biologically active TGF-alpha into their medium. These results show that a biologically active TGF-alpha can be produced by a gene synthesized from only part of the coding region and that the infectious retrovirus carrying the TGF-alpha gene (SW355) can function as a transforming agent in NRK cells in the presence of TGF-beta.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lazar
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Sporn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D005796:Genes; D005814:Genes, Viral; D007668:Kidney; D009154:Mutation; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010455:Peptides / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D015291:Transforming Growth Factors
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D015291:Transforming Growth Factors