The forever young gene encodes an oxidoreductase required for proper development of the Arabidopsis vegetative shoot apex.

In plant development, leaf primordia are formed on the flanks of the shoot apical meristem in a highly predictable pattern. The cells that give rise to a primordium are sequestered from the apical meristem. Maintenance of the meristem requires that these cells be replaced by the addition of new cells. Despite the central role of these activities in development, the mechanism controlling and coordinating them is poorly understood. These processes have been characterized in the Arabidopsis mutant forever young (fey). The fey mutation results in a disruption of leaf positioning and meristem maintenance. The predicted FEY protein shares significant homology to a nodulin and limited homology to various reductases. It is proposed that FEY plays a role in communication in the shoot apex through the modification of a factor regulating meristem development.

Benzo[a]pyrene-induced murine skin tumors exhibit frequent and characteristic G to T mutations in the p53 gene.

Human tobacco-related cancers exhibit a high frequency of G to T transversions in the mutation hot spot region of the p53 tumor suppressor gene, possibly the result of specific mutagens in tobacco smoke, most notably benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P). No in vivo animal model of B[a]P-induced tumorigenesis has been used, however, to substantiate these molecular epidemiological data experimentally. Direct DNA sequence analysis of the hot spot region (exons 5-8 inclusive) of murine p53 was performed in 20 skin tumors induced by a complete carcinogenesis protocol with B[a]P. Sequence analyses revealed numerous heterozygous missense mutations in carcinomas, specifically in exons 7 and 8 of the p53 gene, and targeting exclusively guanine residues. Moreover, 70% (5/7) of the mutations characterized were G to T transversions. In contrast, direct DNA sequence analysis of 36 skin tumors induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) in either a complete carcinogenesis protocol or in a two-stage carcinogenesis protocol revealed a 30% frequency of heterozygous p53 mutations, with the majority of mutations found in carcinomas, but only a single G to T transversion (1/8). Thus, while mutation frequencies are similar, the pattern and type of p53 mutations in B[a]P-induced skin tumors differs significantly from the mutation spectra in DMBA-induced squamous neoplasias. These in vivo findings in B[a]P-induced tumors lend support to in vitro and molecular epidemiological evidence, suggesting that the p53 tumor suppressor gene may be a selective target of metabolically activated B[a]P species etiologically associated with human tobacco-related cancers.

Human pancreatic carcinomas and cell lines reveal frequent and multiple alterations in the p53 and Rb-1 tumor-suppressor genes.

The molecular pathology of human pancreatic cancer is poorly understood, particularly with regard to the role of known tumor-suppressor genes. We have examined the expression of the p53 and Rb-1 tumor-suppressor genes in seven human pancreatic carcinoma cell lines and 10 primary pancreatic carcinomas. Examination of the Rb-1 gene by Northern hybridization and immunoprecipitation analyses revealed the absence of Rb-1 protein expression in two cell lines. Moreover, regions of absent nuclear staining in two primary pancreatic carcinomas were detected by immunohistochemical analysis. Investigation of p53 by Southern, Northern, immunohistochemical and immunoprecipitation analyses revealed multiple abnormalities, including gross rearrangements in two cell lines, the absence of detectable p53 transcript in two cell lines and a truncated transcript in one line. Six cell lines overexpressed p53 protein, while one line revealed the absence of p53 product by immunohistochemical and immunoprecipitation analyses. Sequence analysis of exons 5-8 of the p53 gene confirmed these analyses, revealing missense mutations in all seven cell lines in codons 181, 220, 248, 249, 265, 272 and 273. Of 10 mutations identified, nine were transitions and 50% were in codon 273. Immunohistochemical analyses of frozen primary pancreatic carcinomas revealed positive nuclear staining for p53 in 40% of cases. Mutations were identified in codons 238 and 286 and in intron 9 in several representative specimens. Alterations in the p53 and Rb-1 genes may be important features in the development of human pancreatic cancer.

Partial suppression of tumorigenicity in a human lung cancer cell line transfected with Krev-1.

A human non-small-cell lung carcinoma cell line, Calu-6 (from an anaplastic carcinoma), was transfected with the Ki-ras-related anti-oncogene Krev-1. Several transfectant lines were obtained that showed a reduced tumorigenicity in nude mice with respect to the parental and control transfected cell lines. This decrease was approximately 50% in tumor incidence at 4 wk after subcutaneous inoculation of the transfected cells. In addition, the volume of the Calu-6 revertant-derived tumors was three to 10 times smaller than that of the equivalent tumors produced by inoculation of the control cell line transfected with the neomycin-resistance gene. Krev-1--transfected cells that exhibited reduced tumorigenicity expressed Krev-1 mRNA and had variable numbers of copies of the Krev-1 gene. Moreover, Krev-1--transfected cells exhibited a more differentiated squamous epithelial morphology than the parental and control cell lines did. Moderately elevated levels of protein kinase C activity were detected in some revertant clones. Such activity correlated with the level of expression of Krev-1 mRNA in most cases. In summary, Krev-1 induced important morphological and biological changes in transfected Calu-6 cells that we interpreted as partial reversion of the malignant phenotype.

Alterations of the p53 tumor suppressor gene during mouse skin tumor progression.

The two-stage murine skin tumorigenesis model is widely used to study the development of squamous cell neoplasias. We have investigated expression of the p53 and retinoblastoma tumor suppressor genes in eight murine skin tumor cell lines of varied histopathology and malignant potential, in seven in vivo-derived clones from these cell lines, and in 39 primary short-term cultures of similarly induced skin tumors at various stages of tumor progression. One squamous cell carcinoma cell line and three more malignant clones derived from it revealed mutations of the p53 protein by immunoprecipitation analyses despite normal-sized p53 transcripts. Sequence analysis identified the nature of the point mutations in these lines, a G----C transversion in codon 132. Mouse retinoblastoma transcripts and protein were unaltered in all the cell lines examined. Among short-term cultures of skin tumors, the p53 gene appeared normal in all papillomas and early well-differentiated carcinomas by Southern and immunoprecipitation analyses. In contrast, four of eight tumors from later stages of promotion (50-60 weeks) possessed alterations in p53, including loss of the p53 product, and loss of immunoreactivity with a murine-specific antibody recognizing only wild-type p53 protein. Loss of heterozygosity at the p53 locus was similarly observed in several more malignant tumors from later stages of promotion. In contrast retinoblastoma expression was normal regardless of the stage of promotion or histological grade of the tumor. Direct sequence analyses of exons 5 through 8 of the p53 gene in eight advanced murine skin tumors revealed a 25% incidence of p53 mutations. These point mutations were located in codons 245 and 263. Collectively, these data indicate that alterations in the p53 gene occur in 25 to 50% of murine skin tumors induced by the two-stage tumorigenesis protocol and are later events in murine skin tumor progression. Moreover, these alterations are associated with tumors possessing a more malignant and/or poorly differentiated phenotype.