The induction of apoptosis by SV40 T antigen correlates with c-jun overexpression.
Simian virus (SV40) T antigen shares many characteristics with adenovirus E1A which is known to induce apoptosis. To verify the potential of SV40 T antigen-mediated apoptosis, we stably expressed T antigen in immortalized human epithelial cells (Z172 and HaCaT). We found that SV40 T antigen could directly cause apoptosis in 22-27% of these cells under normal growth condition as measured by chromatin condensation and nucleosomal fragmentation. The apoptosis of HaCaT cells which contain mutant p53 suggests the p53-independent nature of T antigen-mediated apoptosis. T antigen-induced apoptosis was associated with increased expression of c-Jun protein. Moreover, the overexpression of c-jun alone in these cells also induced apoptosis, indicating that c-jun might play an important role in T antigen-induced apoptosis.
Chen
S L
SL
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Graduate Institute of Medical Science, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Tsao
Y P
YP
Chen
Y L
YL
Huang
S J
SJ
Chang
J L
JL
Wu
S F
SF
D017500:Adenovirus E1A Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D000952:Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming / Q000235:genetics; D017209:Apoptosis; D002460:Cell Line; D015870:Gene Expression; D005814:Genes, Viral; D019254:Genes, bcl-2; D016758:Genes, jun; D016158:Genes, p53; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D013539:Simian virus 40 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014162:Transfection
D017500:Adenovirus E1A Proteins; D000952:Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming