title: Bcl-2 expression in F-MuLV-induced erythroleukemias: a role for the anti-apoptotic action of Bcl-2 during tumor progression.
abstract: Erythroleukemias induced by various strains of Friend virus are multistage malignancies that result from the accumulation of genetic mutations, including the activation of proto-oncogenes and the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. In this study, we demonstrate that Bcl-2 expression is activated in the majority of F-MuLV-induced erythroleukemia cell lines. In contrast, Bcl-2 was not expressed in any of the FV-P-induced erythroleukemia cell lines and protein levels were low or negligible in FV-A-induced erythroleukemia cell lines examined. In vivo, Bcl-2 expression levels gradually increased in F-MuLV-induced erythroleukemic cells prior to adaptation to culture. High expression of Bcl-2 in F-MuLV-induced erythroleukemic cells was shown to proceed the emergence of p53 mutation suggesting that Bcl-2 expression may delay p53 mutation in the leukemic cells. This is further supported by the demonstration that the majority of F-MuLV-induced erythroleukemia cell lines established from primary tumors induced in p53 mutant mice express low to negligible levels of Bcl-2. We have shown that the high levels of Bcl-2 expression in FV-P-induced erythroleukemic cells inhibited apoptosis induced by etoposide, low serum and p53 expression. Similarly, ectopic Bcl-2 expression within these cells also provided protection from apoptosis induced by etoposide and growth in low serum. These results suggest that the anti-apoptotic action of Bcl-2 may confer a selective in vivo and in vitro growth advantage to F-MuLV-induced erythroleukemic cells, which is not shared by FV-P/FV-A-induced erythroleukemic cells. The observed induction of Bcl-2 expression in vivo constitutes a novel but late oncogenic event associated with the progression of F-MuLV-induced erythroleukemias.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Division of Cancer Biology, Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre & Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zochodne
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kapoor
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ung
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ben-David
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D005622:Friend murine leukemia virus; D004915:Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53