title: bcl-2 enhancement of malignant transformation in mouse epidermal JB6 cells.
abstract: Increased bcl-2 expression is a common feature of many types of human malignancies, which implies that bcl-2 plays an important role in tumorigenesis. To better understand the molecular mechanisms of bcl-2-induced oncogenesis, we examined the effects of bcl-2 expression on transformation of mouse epidermal JB6 cells induced by the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13 acetate (TPA). Promotion-sensitive JB6 clone41 cells were transfected with the bcl-2-containing expression vector pD5-neo/bcl-2, and the soft agar growth of bcl-2-transfected cells and control cells were compared. bcl-2 overexpression in JB6 clone41 cells caused a TPA-induced soft-agar growth fivefold greater than the growth of nontransfected or vector-transfected (neo control) cells. bcl-2 expression in the absence of TPA did not lead to colony formation in soft agar. Because the level of the transcription factor activator protein 1 (AP-1) has been shown to be critical for the responsiveness of JB6 cells to TPA-induced transformation, we compared c-jun and c-fos expression as well as the AP-1-binding activity and the AP-1-mediated transactivation of the reporter construct TRE-CAT between bcl-2-expressing cells and control cells. When compared with control cells, bcl-2-transfected cells expressed significantly more c-fos but not c-jun after TPA treatment. Furthermore, the levels of AP-1 and AP-1-induced transactivation of TRE-CAT were greater in bcl-2-transfected cells than in control cells after TPA treatment. These results showed that bcl-2 cooperates with a tumor promoter such as TPA in the induction of malignant transformation in mouse epidermal cells and that bcl-2 enhances soft-agar growth by stimulating signaling pathways that led to increased AP-1 expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Maryland, Baltimore 21201, USA.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Amstad
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ichimiya
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: I K
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Berezesky
authors.forename: B F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Trump
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002273:Carcinogens; D002460:Cell Line; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D002999:Clone Cells; D003043:Cocarcinogenesis; D015870:Gene Expression; D016762:Genes, fos; D016758:Genes, jun; D051379:Mice; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000096:biosynthesis; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1 / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D002273:Carcinogens; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate