Studies on epidermal growth factor receptor signaling in vertebrate limb patterning.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) regulates multiple patterning events in Drosophila limb development, but its role in vertebrate limb morphogenesis has received little attention. The EGFR and several of its ligands are expressed in developing vertebrate limbs in manners consistent with potential patterning roles. To gain insight into functions of EGFR signaling in vertebrate limb development, we expressed a constitutively active EGFR in developing chick limbs in ovo. Expression of activated EGFR causes pre- and postaxial polydactyly, including mirror-image-type digit duplication, likely due to induction of ectopic expression and/or modulation of genes involved in anterior-posterior (AP) patterning such as Sonic hedgehog (Shh), dHand, Patched (Ptc), Gli3, Hoxd13, Hoxd11, bone morphogenetic protein 2 (Bmp2), Gremlin, and FGF4. Activation of EGFR signaling dorsalizes the limb and alters expression of the dorsal-ventral (DV) patterning genes Wnt7a, Lmx, and En1. Ectopic and/or extended FGF8 expressing apical ectodermal ridges (AERs) are also seen. Interdigital regression is inhibited and the digits fail to separate, leading to syndactyly, likely due to antiapoptotic and pro-proliferative effects of activated EGFR signaling on limb mesoderm, and/or attenuation of interdigital Bmp4 expression. These findings suggest potential roles for EGFR signaling in AP and DV patterning, AER formation, and cell survival during limb morphogenesis.

Retrovirus infection of cells in vitro and in vivo.

There are many applications in which retrovirus vectors are used as transduction agents. In some cases, the vector carries a gene that one wishes to express in a target cell in order to study the function of that gene. In other cases, the virus is used to introduce a histochemical marker gene into cells in order to follow their fate. Retrovirus vectors can also be used in a variety of cells type to investigate regulatory sequences in which a reporter gene and regulatory sequences are carried by the vector and to immortalize or transform primary cells by transduction of oncogenes. For each application, the infection protocol may vary and must often be optimized. Guidelines for infection of cells in some typical in vivo and in vitro experiments are presented in this overview.

Retroviral expression of connexins in embryonic chick lens.

PURPOSE: To develop an in vivo model system in which exogenous proteins can be expressed in embryonic chick lens and to further understand the function of connexin-mediated gap junction intercellular communication in lens cell biology. METHODS: RCAS(A) is a replication-competent chicken retrovirus that infects dividing cells. Retroviral constructs were prepared containing alkaline phosphatase (AP) and FLAG-tagged connexins. Chick lenses were infected in situ by injecting virus into the lumen of lens vesicles at stage 18, cultures were taken at various periods. The lenses were then dissected, and the expressed proteins were visualized by AP histochemical examination and immunostaining. RESULTS: Twenty-four hours after infection, alkaline phosphatase could be seen in epithelia and fibers. As lens fiber maturation progressed, however, the alkaline phosphatase staining was lost as the fibers matured, presumably because of the proteolytic removal of the enzyme. By 72 hours, alkaline phosphatase staining could still be observed in epithelial cells and in differentiating fibers in the bow region but not in the mature lens fibers. FLAG-tagged exogenous lens connexins were also abundantly expressed by viral infection. The exogenous connexins were localized at the cell surfaces in junctional maculae and showed the same cell-type specific distribution as that of their endogenous connexin counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: An in vivo model system has been developed in the chick that provides opportunities to study the expression of wild-type and mutant proteins during lens differentiation. Expression of wild-type connexins has revealed that the characteristic distribution of the three different lens connexins is maintained even when expression is driven by a viral promoter.

Tumor induction by ras and myc oncogenes in fetal and neonatal brain: modulating effects of developmental stage and retroviral dose.

Introduction into fetal rat brain cells of a replication-defective retroviral vector harboring v-Ha-ras and v-gag-myc rapidly causes the induction of highly malignant undifferentiated neuroectodermal tumors following transplantation into the brains of syngeneic hosts [Wiestler, et al. (1992) Cancer Res. 52: 3760-3767]. In the present study, we have investigated the modulating effect of the developmental stage of neural target cells and of the dose of the retroviral vector used in the grafting experiments. Exposure of fetal cells from embryonic day (E)12 or E14 produced a 100% incidence of malignant neuroectodermal tumors which led to the death of recipient animals after a median latency period of 32 days. A 100-fold reduction of the virus dose from 2.062 x 10(6) to 2.062 x 10(4) focus-forming units/ml resulted in a lower tumor incidence of 25%. Of six neural grafts exposed to v-Ha-ras and v-myc at E16, only one showed evidence of tumorigenesis (low-grade astrocytoma and hemangioma). All other transplants were morphologically normal for observation periods of 26 weeks, indicating a marked loss of transforming activity of ras and myc in more advanced stages of brain development. In retrovirus-exposed donor cells which caused the development of neural tumors in recipient rats, malignant transformation was also evident during culture in vitro, usually after 9-12 days. Oncogene complementation was also studied in the newborn rat brain. After microinjection of the retroviral vector into the brain at postnatal day (P)0, P1 and P3, 5 out of 20 animals (25%) developed a total of seven brain tumors. Histopathologically, three of these neoplasms were malignant neuroectodermal tumors which, in contrast to those induced in fetal brain transplants showed evidence of focal glial and/or neuronal differentiation. In addition, we observed one oligodendroglioma, two hemangiomas and a malignant hemangioendothelioma. These data indicate that neural precursor cells and endothelia of the rat brain represent the major target cells for the complementary action of ras and myc and that the use of target cells from later developmental stages (E16 and postnatal) leads to the induction of both primitive and more differentiated neoplasms.