ras activation in human tumors and in animal model systems

Journal Article · Sat Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991 · Environmental Health Perspectives; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.919319· OSTI ID:6096538

Corominas, M; Sloan, S R; Leon, J; Kamino, Hideko; Newcomb, E W; Pellicer, A ^[1]

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1. New York Univ. Medical Center, New York (United States)

Environmental agents such as radiation and chemicals are known to cause genetic damage. Alterations in a limited set of cellular genes called proto-oncogenes lead to unregulated proliferation and differentiation. The authors have studied the role of the ras gene family in carcinogenesis using two different animal models. In one case, thymic lymphomas were induced in mice by either gamma or neutron radiation, and in the other, keratoacanthomas were induced in rabbit skin with dimethylbenzanthracene. Human keratoacanthomas similar to the ones induced in rabbits were also analyzed. They found that different types of radiation such as gamma rays and neutrons, induced different point mutations in ras genes. A novel K-ras mutation in codon 146 has been found in thymic lymphomas induced by neutrons. Keratoacanthomas induced in rabbit skin by dimethylbenzanthracene show a high frequency of H-ras-activated genes carrying a mutation in codon 61. The same is observed in human keratoacanthomas, although mutations are in both the 12th and the 61st codons of the H-ras gene. H-ras activation is less frequent in human squamous cell carcinomas than in keratoacanthomas, suggesting that ras genes could play a role in vivo in differentiation as well as in proliferation.

• OSTI ID: 6096538
• Journal Information: Environmental Health Perspectives; (United States), Journal Name: Environmental Health Perspectives; (United States) Vol. 93; ISSN 0091-6765; ISSN EVHPA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550400* -- Genetics
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AROMATICS
BARYONS
BIOLOGICAL MODELS
BODY
CARCINOMAS
CELL DIFFERENTIATION
CELL PROLIFERATION
CHEMICAL ACTIVATION
CODONS
CONDENSED AROMATICS
DIMETHYLBENZANTHRACENE
DISEASES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
GAMMA RADIATION
GENES
HADRONS
IMMUNE SYSTEM DISEASES
IONIZING RADIATIONS
LYMPHATIC SYSTEM
LYMPHOMAS
MUTATIONS
NEOPLASMS
NEUTRONS
NUCLEONS
ONCOGENES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
RADIATIONS
RADIOINDUCTION
THYMUS