Charles S. Mott Prize. Jun: a transcription factor becomes oncogenic

Effects of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4, 5-b] pyridine (PhIP) on histopathology, oxidative stress, and expression of c-fos, c-jun and p16 in rat stomachs

2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4, 5-b] pyridine (PhIP) is one of the most abundant heterocyclic amines (HCAs) generated from overcooking meat at high temperatures. To understand the possible mechanism of PhIP-associated stomach cancer, the effects of PhIP on morphology, oxidative stress, gene expression of c-fos, c-jun and p16 in rat stomachs were investigated. The results showed that (1) 15mg/kg body weight PhIP induced obvious histopathological changes in gastric mucosa; (2) PhIP (10 and/or 15mg/kg) significantly decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathioneperoxidase (GPx) activities, while increased catalase (CAT) activity compared with the control. With the elevated doses of PhIP, malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, protein carbonyl (PCO) contents and DNA-protein crosslinks (DPC) coefficients were significantly raised in a dose-dependent manner; (3) PhIP at the doses of 10mg/kg and/or 15mg/kg significantly inhibited p16 mRNA and protein expression, whereas enhanced c-fos and c-jun expression relative to control. The data indicated that PhIP could cause stomach injury, oxidative stress in rat stomachs as well as the activation of c-fos and c-jun and inactivation of p16, which may play a role in the pathogenesis of PhIP-associated stomach cancer.

Effect of sulfur dioxide on expression of proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes from rats

Sulfur dioxide (SO(2)) is a ubiquitous air pollutant that is present in low concentrations in the urban air, and in higher concentrations in the working environment. In the present study, male Wistar rats were housed in exposure chambers and treated with 14.00 +/- 1.01, 28.00 +/- 1.77 and 56.00 +/- 3.44 mg m(-3) SO(2) for 6 h/day for 7 days, while control group was exposed to filtered air in the same condition. The mRNA and protein levels of proto-oncogenes (c-fos, c-jun, c-myc, and Ki-ras) and tumor suppressor genes (p53, Rb, and p16) were analyzed in lungs using a real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT-PCR) assay and Western blot analysis. The results showed that mRNA and protein levels of c-fos, c-jun, c-myc, Ki-ras, and p53 in lungs were increased in a dose-dependent manner, while mRNA and protein levels of Rb and p16 were decreased in lungs of rats after SO(2) inhalation. These results lead to a conclusion that SO(2) exposure could activate expressions of proto-oncogenes and suppress expressions of tumor suppressor genes, which might relate to the molecular mechanism of cocarcinogenic properties and potential carcinogenic effects of SO(2). According to previous studies, the results also indicated that promoter genes of apoptosis and tumor suppressor genes could produce apoptotic signals to antagonize the growth signals that arise from oncogenes. Understanding its molecular controls will benefit development of treatments for many diseases.

Oncogenic transformation by ras and fos is mediated by c-Jun N-terminal phosphorylation

The nuclear phosphoprotein c-Jun is a major component of the AP-1 transcription factor, whose activity is augmented by many oncogenes. An important mechanism to stimulate AP-1 function is N-terminal phosphorylation of c-Jun at the serine residues 63 and 73 by the c-JunN-terminal kinases (JNKs). Mice and cells harboring a mutant allele of c-jun, which has the JNK phosphoacceptor serines changed to alanines (junAA), were used to determine the function of c-Jun N-terminal phosphorylation (JNP) during oncogenic transformation in vitro and in vivo. JunAA immortalized fibroblasts expressing v-ras and v-fos showed reduced tumorigenicity in nude mice, but the efficiency of v-src transformation was unaffected by the lack of JNP. To assess the significance of JNP in tumour development in vivo, two transgenic mouse tumour models were employed. Skin tumour development caused by constitutive activation of the ras pathway by K5-SOS-F expression and c-fos-induced osteosarcoma formation were impaired in mice lacking JNP. Inhibition of JNP may, therefore, be a novel therapeutic strategy to inhibit tumour growth in vivo. Oncogene (2000).

Selective hyperexpression of c-jun oncoprotein by glass fiber- and silica-transformed BALB/c-3T3 cells

Mining and mineral processing are important industries in the United States. A large number of workers are potentially exposed to silica during mining and to glass fibers during manufacturing. There is a concern regarding lung cancer risk among workers exposed to silica and glass fibers. Our previous studies showed that both glass fibers and silica induced transformation of BALB/c-3T3 cells. In order to explore the relationship between silica and glass fiber-induced cell transformation and oncoprotein expression, the protein products of seven proto-oncogenes (c-K-ras, c-H-ras, c-sis, c-myc, c-myb, c-erb B1 and c-jun) and one tumor suppressor gene (p53) were examined in BALB/c-3T3 cells transformed by glass fibers or silica using immunoblotting with specific monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies. The results showed that all transformants, including eight induced by glass fibers and eight by silica (Min-U-Sil 5), were positive for c-jun protein expression; the level of c-jun protein was elevated 8-21-fold in these transformants. Other protooncogene proteins in transformed cells were either not detectable or not different from non-transformed cells. These results suggest that the overexpression of c-jun is common in BALB/c-3T3 transformed cells induced by glass fibers or silica. It seems, therefore, that the expression of c-jun may play an important role in the transformation process.

AP-1/jun is required for early Xenopus development and mediates mesoderm induction by fibroblast growth factor but not by activin

In Xenopus, normal mesoderm formation depends on signaling through the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) tyrosine kinase receptor. An important signaling pathway from receptor tyrosine kinases involves Ras/Raf/MAP kinase. However, the downstream pathway that occurs in the nucleus to finally trigger gene expression for mesoderm formation remains unknown. We report here that a high level of activator protein-1 (AP-1)-dependent transcriptional activity is detected during the early development of Xenopus embryos. Injection of a dominant negative mutant jun (DNM-jun or TAM67) RNA into the two-cell stage embryos inhibited endogenous AP-1 activity and blocked normal embryonic development with severe posterior truncation in tadpoles. The inhibition of AP-1 activity and the phenotypic change induced by TAM67 was rescued by co-injection of wild-type c-jun RNA, but not by the control beta-galactosidase RNA. The FGF-stimulated mesoderm induction was markedly inhibited in animal cap explants from the embryos injected with TAM67. Activin induction of mesoderm, on the other hand, was normal in the embryos injected with TAM67 RNA. These findings suggest that AP-1 mediates FGF, but not activin, receptor signaling during mesoderm induction and the AP-1/Jun is a key signaling molecule in the development of posterior structure.