The TRK and RET tyrosine kinase oncogenes cooperate with ras in the neoplastic transformation of a rat thyroid epithelial cell line.
We have recently reported that about 50% of papillary thyroid carcinomas harbor an activated TRK or RET oncogene. Two retroviral vectors containing the activated TRK or RET/PTC oncogene have been used to infect a differentiated rat thyroid epithelial cell line, namely the PC Clone 3 cell line. Upon infection with the TRK virus, the PC Clone 3 cells lost only the ability to trap iodide and to express the thyroperoxidase gene. Conversely, when infected with the PTC virus, the PC Clone 3 cells completely lost all of their differentiated functions. However, both the PC-TRK and PC-PTC cell lines were unable to grow in soft agar, and they were not tumorigenic when injected into nude mice. A completely undifferentiated and malignant phenotype was obtained by the cooperation between the TRK or RET and the viral Ha-ras or Ki-ras oncogenes.
Dipartimento di Biologia e Patologia Cellulare e Molecolare L. Califano, II Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università degli Studi di Napoli, Italy.
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Santoro
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Melillo
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Grieco
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Berlingieri
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Vecchio
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Fusco
D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D004848:Epithelium / Q000473:pathology; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000502:physiology*; D011905:Genes, ras; D009857:Oncogenes; D010641:Phenotype; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000473:pathology*
D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases