title: Transgenic expression of walleye dermal sarcoma virus rv-cyclin (orfA) in zebrafish does not result in tissue proliferation.
abstract: Walleye dermal sarcoma (WDS) is a benign tumor of walleye fish that develops and completely regresses seasonally. The retrovirus associated with this disease, walleye dermal sarcoma virus, encodes three accessory genes, two of which, rv-cyclin (orfA) and orfb, are thought to play a role in tumor development. In this study, we attempted to recapitulate WDS development by expressing rv-cyclin in chimeric and stable transgenic zebrafish. Six stable transgenic lines expressing rv-cyclin from the constitutive CMVtk promoter were generated. Immunohistochemistry and quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction demonstrate that rv-cyclin is widely expressed in different tissues in these fish. These lines were viable and histologically normal for up to 2 years. No increase in tumors or tissue proliferation was observed following N-ethyl N-nitrosourea exposure or following tail wounding and subsequent tissue regeneration compared to controls. These data indicate that rv-cyclin is not independently sufficient for tumor induction in zebrafish.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rovnak
authors.forename: Sandra L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Quackenbush
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Whitlock
authors.forename: Huiqing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.forename: Zhiyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spitsbergen
authors.forename: Paul R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Bowser
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Casey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified / Q000378:metabolism*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D030283:Epsilonretrovirus / Q000235:genetics*; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D005814:Genes, Viral; D012038:Regeneration / Q000235:genetics; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D013623:Tail / Q000293:injuries / Q000378:metabolism; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins