Two oncogenes, v-fos and v-ras, cooperate to convert normal keratinocytes to squamous cell carcinoma

Journal Article · Sun Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1989 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.87.2.643· OSTI ID:6709918

Greenhalgh, D A; Welty, D J; Player, A; Yuspa, S H ^[1]

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1. National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD (USA)

Previous studies have been implicated the ras{sup Ha} oncogene in the initiation of skin carcinogenesis and the fos oncogene in malignant progression of premalignant skin cell lines. To determine if these two oncogenes are sufficient to convert normal keratinocytes to cancer cells, freshly isolated mouse keratinocytes were coinfected with replication-defective ({psi}-2) v-ras{sup Ha} and v-fos viruses in culture. When tested in nude mice within several days of infection, v-fos/v-ras{sup Ha}-coinfected keratinocytes produced squamous cell carcinomas. Introduction of v-fos alone resulted in normal or hyperplastic skin, whereas v-ras{sup Ha} alone produced squamous papillomas. These results indicate that two oncogenes are sufficient to produce the malignant phenotype in epidermal cells. Furthermore, they clearly link the fos oncogene with malignant conversion. Since fos acts as a transcriptional regulator of other genes, malignant conversion may be an indirect consequence of the overexpression of the fos-encoded protein leading to a change in the expression of fos-controlled cellular genes.

• OSTI ID: 6709918
• Journal Information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA), Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA) Vol. 87:2; ISSN PNASA; ISSN 0027-8424
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
ANIMAL TISSUES
ANIMALS
BODY
CARCINOGENESIS
CARCINOMAS
CELL TRANSFORMATIONS
DISEASES
EPITHELIUM
GENES
HISTOLOGY
KERATIN
MAMMALS
MICE
MICROORGANISMS
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
NEOPLASMS
ONCOGENES
ONCOGENIC TRANSFORMATIONS
ONCOGENIC VIRUSES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PARASITES
PATHOGENESIS
PROTEINS
RODENTS
SCLEROPROTEINS
SKIN
TISSUES
VERTEBRATES
VIRUSES