title: Distinct patterns of gene expression induced by viral oncogenes in human embryonic brain cells.
abstract: 1. The limited lifespan of human embryonic brain (HEB) cells hampers their therapeutic use for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. 2. Stable expression of SV40 large T antigen (LTA) or E6E7 genes of human papillomavirus type 16 significantly increased the lifespan of HEB cells, but did not induce transformation. 3. The extended lifespan was triggered by changes in the expression of antiproliferative genes. We found that changes in the expression of p16 (INK4a), p21 (WAFI), p14ARF, and p53 tumor suppressor gene, but not p27 (Kip1), differed between the LTA- and E6E7-HEB cells. 4. Despite the induction of p53 RNA, p53 protein was undetectable in HEB-E6E7 cells. In contrast, p53 protein was increased in HEB-LTA cells as compared with the parental cells. Expression of p21 was, however, reduced in both cell lines. 5. While p16 was decreased in HEB-E6E7 cells, its expression was increased in HEB-LTA cells. 6. Despite these changes, HEB cell lines showed neuron-like morphological differentiation when the intracellular level of cAMP was elevated. 7. This suggests that the mechanisms for inducing neuronal differentiation are still intact in HEB-E6E7 and HEB-LTA cells. More importantly, differentiation signals can override the effects of viral oncogenes in HEB cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Center for Vitamins and Cancer Research, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado 80262, USA. piruz.nahreini@uchsc.edu
authors.forename: Piruz
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nahreini
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Andreatta
authors.forename: Bipin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hanson
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Edwards-Prasad
authors.forename: Curt R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Freed
authors.forename: Kedar N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Prasad
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D002460:Cell Line; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009857:Oncogenes / Q000502:physiology*; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D013539:Simian virus 40 / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology