H-ras Proto-oncogene Research Articles

Biological activity of a K-ras mutant that contains the 12R/59T/116Y mutations.

The 12R/59T/116Y mutations have been shown to confer a dominant negative activity on H-ras oncogene (H-ras 116Y). To determine whether this event is unique for H-ras, we introduced the same mutations into K-ras oncogene. This mutant, K-ras 116Y, suppressed transformed phenotypes induced by overexpression of H-ras proto-oncogene. NIH3T3 cells expressing K-ras 116Y were resistant to transformation by v-fes oncogene. Analysis of chimaeras between H- and K-ras 116Y showed that the C-terminal variable region determines the level of suppressor activity. These results suggest that these mutations are applicable to other GDP/GTP binding proteins.

Growth-related gene expression in early cholestatic liver injury.

Extrahepatic biliary obstruction initiates cholestasis, bile duct proliferation, periportal fibrosis, and, eventually, lethal biliary cirrhosis. Little is known about the genetic regulation of the cellular proliferation and differentiation that begins with the onset of bile duct obstruction. To focus this and future gene expression studies, we sought to determine the time frame for growth-related gene expression and questioned whether the in vivo expression of the protooncogenes H-ras and c-myc was altered after bile duct obstruction. Female Fisher rats underwent ligation and division of the common bile duct or sham laparotomy. After obstruction, serum bilirubin and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase rose to 24% and 30%, respectively, of maximum levels by 10 days after ligation. Morphologic evidence of proliferation of bile duct epithelial cells was first evident after 3 days. After hybridization to c-DNA probes, densitometry for H-ras and beta-actin revealed an immediate and parallel increase in steady-state levels of expression after 24 hours of cholestasis. Levels of c-myc messenger RNA were elevated during the first 3 days of cholestasis; however, at 7 and 10 days c-myc expression was depressed 16% and 60%, respectively. These profiles of expression show an oncogene response induced by early cholestasis. These data showed that elevations in H-ras and c-myc steady-state expression accompany the proliferative response of bile duct epithelial cells. Decreased levels of c-myc after initial elevation infer that ductal proliferation may continue independently of its steady-state expression, a response usually seen in vitro rather than in in vivo proliferation.

Localized Expression of the H-ras Proto-oncogene during Ilyanassa Development

We have immunostained Ilyanassa embryos with an antibody to the ras protein and shown that the ras gene (1) is not expressed from early cleavage through the gastrula stage, but (2) is expressed during organogenesis by both normal and lobeless embryos, (3) that the ras protein is first synthesized from the third day of development in the normal embryo and from the fifth day of development in the lobeless embryo, and (4) that the expression of the ras protein is localized in mesodermal lineages of both normal and lobeless embryos.

Regulation of β myosin heavy chain, c-myc and c-fos proto-oncogenes in thyroid hormone-induced hypertrophy of the rat myocardium

1. In order to investigate the molecular mechanisms determining the hypertrophic response of the ventricular myocardium to thyroid hormone administration, changes in left and right ventricular expression of the c-myc, c-fos and H-ras proto-oncogenes in response to treatment with 3,3',5-tri-iodothyronine were defined. 2. Adult female Wistar rats were treated with daily subcutaneous injections of 3,3',5-tri-iodothyronine (50 micrograms) for 1, 3, 7 or 14 days (n = 6 in each treatment group) and the results from 3,3',5-tri-iodothyronine-treated animals were compared with those obtained from untreated controls (n = 6). Changes in the weight of the left and right ventricles in response to 3,3',5-tri-iodothyronine treatment were measured; changes in expression of the c-myc, c-fos and H-ras proto-oncogenes were determined in parallel by measurement of specific messenger RNAs by Northern and dot hybridization, as well as changes in expression of beta myosin heavy chain messenger RNA. 3. Treatment with 3,3',5-tri-iodothyronine resulted in increases in both left and right ventricular weights after 3 days, an effect maintained up to 14 days. Despite an increase in left ventricular weight, levels of beta myosin heavy chain, c-myc, c-fos and H-ras mRNAs in the left ventricle were unchanged; in contrast, an increase in right ventricular weight was associated with increased expression of beta myosin heavy chain, c-myc and c-fos messenger RNAs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Novel RFLPs at protooncogene and cancer-related gene loci on mouse chromosomes.

DNA probes for the NRAS, HRAS, KRAS2, LCK, RAF1, MET, MYCL1, MYCN, MYB, ERBB2, FOS, CSF1R, and SRC protooncogene loci; the retinoblastoma gene locus (RB1); the tumor virus integration sites INT2, PVT1, and MLV12; and the locus of the tumor-specific antigen T1A were used to screen mouse genomic DNAs from RF/J, CAST/Ei, MOLF/Ei, Mus musculus musculus, M. m. poschiavinus, and M. spretus. Polymorphic DNA fragments for the 18 DNA probes have been identified using Southern blot hybridization and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis.

Time-resolved crystallography on H-ras p21

We describe here the results obtained to date on a project aimed at characterizing the changes occurring in the protein product (p21) of the H-ras proto-oncogene during and as a result of hydrolysis of GTP at its active site. The approach used involves crystallization of p21 with a photosensitive precursor of GTP (caged GTP) at the active site followed by generation of GTP by photolysis and collection of X-ray diffraction data using the Laue method at a synchrotron source. The structure of p21 complexed with a single diastereomer of caged GTP is presented here. In contrast to crystals obtained with mixed diastereomers, the nucleotide appears to bind in a manner which is very similar to that of other guanine nucleotides (GDP, GTP, GppNHp). The current state of time resolved structural experiments using these crystals is presented.

Characterization of murine cell lines from diethylstilbestrol-induced uterine endometrial adenocarcinomas.

Neonatal treatment with estrogens is associated with development of uterine adenocarcinomas in CD-1 mice. Treatment with the synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) on Days 1 to 5 after birth results in 90% incidence of these hormone-dependent lesions in 18-mo.-old mice. Three cell lines were established from these DES-associated tumors. Each of these cell lines exhibited morphologic and ultrastructural characteristics of transformed epithelial cells, including an increased nuclear:cytoplasmic ratio, enlarged and irregular nuclei with multiple nucleoli and areas of chromatin condensation, positive staining for cytokeratin, desmosomes, and microvilli. After subcutaneous injection into nude mice, all three cell lines formed solid tumors within 4 wk. Although the primary uterine tumors and tumor transplants in nude mice had been shown to be estrogen-dependent and estrogen-receptor positive, neither the monolayer growth nor the tumorigenicity of any of the three cell lines in this study was enhanced by or dependent on estrogen. Estrogen receptor levels were low in early and intermediate passage cells. Allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization analysis of PCR-amplified cell line DNA revealed no point mutations in the 12th, 13th, or 61st codons of the K-ras or H-ras protooncogenes. Southern analysis revealed no changes in genomic organization of the putative tumor suppressor gene DCC, but demonstrated a three- to four-fold amplification of the c-myc gene in one cell line. Expression of c-myc RNA was concomitantly increased in the same cell line. These three transformed cell lines represent the end point in the process of hormone-associated tumorigenesis and as such should prove useful in investigating the molecular changes and the mechanisms involved in hormonal carcinogenesis.

Genetic alterations in the 61st codon of the H-ras oncogene isolated from archival sections of hepatic hyperplasias, adenomas and carcinomas in control groups of B6C3F1 mouse bioassay studies conducted from 1979 to 1986.

In order to better understand the molecular events in murine hepatocarcinogenesis, the frequency and types of mutations in the murine H-ras proto-oncogene isolated from 184 independent, spontaneously occurring hepatic lesions were determined. Hepatocellular foci, hyperplasias, adenomas and carcinomas were obtained from archival samples of control male (134 samples) and female (50 samples) B6C3F1 mice used in oncogenicity studies that were conducted at Lilly Research Laboratories from 1979 to 1986. The 61st codon region of the H-ras oncogene from these sections was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction. Mutation frequencies were determined by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The types of mutations were characterized by allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization and confirmed by DNA sequencing. Forty-two per cent of the carcinomas, 44% of the adenomas, 42% of the hyperplasias and 29% of the foci contained mutations at the 61 codon. The mutation spectra for the carcinomas, adenomas and hyperplasias consisted of mostly CAA-AAA transversions, followed by CAA-CGA transitions, followed by CAA-CTA transversions. These results demonstrate that: (i) the frequency of spontaneous mutations in the H-ras 61st codon is equivalent in murine hyperplasias, adenomas and carcinomas, and (ii) sex was not a determining factor in either the mutation frequency or mutation spectrum for the spontaneous lesions. If these lesions represent successive stages in the carcinogenic process, then these results suggest that mutations in the 61st codon of H-ras are early events in spontaneous murine hepatocarcinogenesis.

The human ribonuclease/angiogenin inhibitor is encoded by a gene mapped to chromosome 11p15.5, within 90 kb of the HRAS protooncogene.

Ribonuclease/angiogenin inhibitor (RAI) is a tight-binding inhibitor of ribonucleolytic and angiogenic activities involved in tumor progression. It is translated from various mRNAs differing in their 5 regions and originating from a single gene locus. Recently, this gene (RNH) has been assigned to 11p15.5, the terminal part of the short arm of chromosome 11. The regional chromosomal localization was confirmed by somatic cell and in situ hybridization and further refined by long-range restriction mapping. The data place RNH within 90 kb of the Harvey-ras protooncogene (HRAS), so far the most telomeric gene on 11p, in a region involved in growth regulation and tumor development.

Positional effects on the structure and stability of abbreviated H-ras DNA sequences containing O6-methylguanine residues at codon 12

Activation of the H-ras protooncogene in rats by methylating carcinogens results from a G-to-A transition mutation at the second position of codon 12 (GGA), presumably due to formation of an O6-methylguanine (m6G) at this position. A similar transition at the first position of codon 12 appears not to occur in vivo. To study the possible structural basis for this bias in mutation, we synthesized a series of 11-base H-ras sequences [e.g., 5'-d(CGCTG*G*AGGCG)-3' and two complementary strands] containing an m6G at the first, second, or both positions of codon 12 (i.e., G* = m6G). The results of solution chemical studies indicated that the individual strands formed stable hairpin structures among which that containing m6G at the second position of codon 12 was most stable. Further, the DNA duplex with m6G at the second position was significantly more stable than that with m6G at the first position, and under certain conditions, it was more stable than the unmodified duplex as well. It is possible that such a difference in stability might lead to more ready recognition of an m6G at the first position by repair proteins, and this could contribute to the apparent site specificity of mutation by methylating carcinogens at codon 12 of the H-ras gene.

Site specificity of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced transition mutations in the hprt gene

The reaction product of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) with DNA, O6-methylguanine (O6-MeG), is responsible for the mutagenic and carcinogenic effects of this carcinogen. These involve activation of the H-ras proto-oncogene in rat mammary tumors by MNU, with a high frequency of GC to AT transitions in codon 12 of this gene. The present study aimed to investigate the types and position specificities of mutations induced by MNU in another gene, the hprt gene of V79 Chinese hamster cells. Furthermore, since processes involved in the expression of genetic damage, e.g. the state of the DNA precursor pool, have been suggested to be important factors in carcinogenesis, the mutagenic specificity of MNU was also studied in the presence of an imbalanced nucleotide pool. Isolation of independent hprt mutant clones from three groups treated in different manners was performed. Two different doses of MNU and a low dose of MNU in combination with hydroxyurea (HU) were employed. Comparison of the results with the two doses of MNU did not indicate any shift in mutation specificity. The majority of the mutations induced by MNU were base substitutions, mostly transitions of GC to AT showing high affinity for the middle base in 5'-purine-G-N-3' sequences (15/18) in the nontranscribing strand, suggesting a difference in repair capacity for the two strands. The relatively high frequency of the base substitutions resulting in splicing defects is explained by the presence of a consensus sequence (5'-purine-g-N-3') in the splice sites of the hprt gene. The results from the HU/MNU group showed a few more GC to TA transversions, though not statistically significant, which may be caused by a shift from miscoding to non-coding recognition of the O6-MeG lesion. The same reactive decomposition products formed from MNU are also formed from a variety of other carcinogenic compounds, e.g. N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, dimethylnitrosamine, nitrosocimetidine and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone, suggesting that our findings concerning the mutagenic specificity of MNU in mammalian cells are valid also for these other compounds as well.

Physiologic signaling in normal human T-cells: mRNA phenotyping by northern blot analysis and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction

Synergy between ionomycin and sn-1,2-dioctanoylglycerol (diC 8) was shown at the level of lymphokine gene transcription. Transcriptional activation of interleukin-2 (IL-2), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and the protooncogene H-ras was accomplished by signaling highly purified normal human resting T-lymphocytes (T-cells) with diC 8, a physiologic regulator of protein kinase C, and the calcium ionophore, ionomycin. Northern blot analysis of mRNA for early T-cell activation genes demonstrated the synergism between diC 8 and ionomycin at the gene induction level. To amplify very low levels of IL-2 mRNA, sequential reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of T cell mRNA were used to demonstrate the capacity of the calcium signal (ionomycin) to promote low-level IL-2 transcription in normal human T-cells without additional signals. Cyclosporine (CsA) prevented diC 8 and ionomycin-induced expression of IL-2, IFN-γ, and H-ras genes. The completeness of its inhibitory effect was evident by the absence of IL-2 transcripts in CsA-treated cultures screened by the RT-PCR technique. CsA also prevented IL-2 and IFN-γ gene expression in accessory cell-depleted T-cells stimulated by crosslinking the CD2 and CD3 antigens on the cell surface. Our observations demonstrate that a physiologic regulator of PKC, diC 8, and cell surface crosslinking of the CD2 and CD3 antigen, promote gene expression in normal human quiescent T-cells independently of accessory cells, and that CsA prevents gene expression via a direct effect on T-cells.

Bifunctional oligonucleotide probes synthesized using a novel CPG support are able to detect single base pair mutations.

A novel multifunctional controlled pore glass, MF-CPG (Fig. 1), has been synthesized and used to incorporate 3' terminal primary aliphatic amines into synthetic oligonucleotides. MF-CPG consists of a unique succinic acid linking arm which possesses both a masked primary amine for label attachment and a dimethoxytrityl protected hydroxyl for nucleotide chain elongation. Using MF-CPG, we have devised a simple and convenient technique to attach non-radioactive labels to the 3' terminus of oligonucleotides. Bifunctional probes can then be constructed by 32P labeling the 5' terminus with T4 kinase and gamma 32P-ATP. Using such bifunctional oligonucleotide probes in conjunction with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, we were able to detect single base substitutions in a target segment of the human H-ras protooncogene employing either functionality. Our technique thus expands the potential applications for oligonucleotides as hybridization probes.

Excision repair of O6-methylguanine synthesized at the rat H-ras N-methyl-N-nitrosourea activation site and introduced into Escherichia coli.

O6-methylguanine (O6-methylG) is believed to be the premutagenic lesion responsible for mutational activation of the H-ras proto-oncogene in rats treated with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU). Research on the repair of O6-methylG has primarily focused on the methyltransferases. Potentially, other repair proteins may be involved in repair of O6-methylG. We have investigated the effect of Escherichia coli UvrABC excision repair on O6-methylG synthesized at the rat H-ras MNU activation site in a partial rat H-ras sequence constructed in an M13mp vector. An oligonucleotide self-selection technique was used to identify progeny phage containing DNA replicated from the O6-methylG-containing strand. We found that excision repair can help protect against mutation by O6-methylG at the rat H-ras MNU activation site.

Intranuclear Androgen Receptor Deployment and Protooncogene Expression in Human Diseased Prostate

Androgen receptors were quantified in nuclei from human prostate tissue and in nuclear fractions derived by exhaustive digestion with micrococcal nuclease. In nuclei from benign hypertrophic prostate (BPH), the population of androgen receptors solubilized during nucleolysis predominated whereas in carcinoma nuclei the nuclease-resistant population was in excess. This phenomenon was restricted to intranuclear deployment and could not be attributed to recompartmentalization within the cell. Receptor content could not be correlated to the expression of the cellular protooncogenes myc, H-ras, K-ras or sis, in either BPH or carcinoma. However, in both BPH and carcinoma, significant correlation was observed between nuclear androgen receptor content and expression of c-fos. Expression of c-fos was not elevated in carcinoma compared to BPH, whereas expression of c-myc was elevated in carcinoma specimens of all grades of glandular differentiation, and expression of H-ras became increasingly elevated as differentiation was lost.

The v-mos and H-ras oncogene expression represses glucocorticoid hormone-dependent transcription from the mouse mammary tumor virus LTR.

We have subjected the viral mos oncogene (v-mos), the activated human H-ras oncogene [H-ras (A)] and the normal human H-ras protooncogene [H-ras (N)] to the transcriptional regulation of glucocorticoid hormones by in vitro recombination with the promoter region of the mouse mammary tumor virus long terminal repeat (MMTV LTR) and transfection into NIH 3T3 cells. Cell clones were selected which exhibit a transformed phenotype strictly dependent on the presence of hormone in the growth medium. The expression of the chimeric genes as a function of time after hormone stimulation was studied at the level of transcriptional rate, mRNA and protein accumulation. Oncogene expression was stimulated rapidly to high levels, after hormone addition, but declined in the continuous presence of hormone. Measurements of the transcriptional rates in nuclei from LTR v-mos and LTR H-ras (A) transfected cells showed a repression of LTR v-mos and LTR H-ras (A) transcription after the initial stimulation by hormone. LTR H-ras (N) transcription was not affected. An independently transfected LTR H-2Ld construct in LTR v-mos or LTR H-ras (A) containing cells is also transcriptionally repressed. These experiments demonstrated a transcriptional repression effect of the oncogene products on the glucocorticoid hormone-dependent MMTV LTR transcription.

A position 12-activated H-ras oncogene in all HS578T mammary carcinosarcoma cells but not normal mammary cells of the same patient.

Among 21 human mammary tumors analyzed for transforming genes by transfection of NIH/3T3 cells, only DNA of a carcinosarcoma cell line, HS578T, registered as positive. A Harvey (H)-ras oncogene identified in this line was cloned in biologically active form and the activating lesion was identified as a single nucleotide substitution of adenine for guanine in the 12th codon. This results in substitution of aspartic acid for glycine at this position of the p21 coding sequence. Knowledge that this alteration creates a restriction site polymorphism for Msp I/Hpa II in the H-ras protooncogene made it possible to survey for the presence of the activated H-ras allele in normal cells as well as in clonally derived tumor cell lines of the same patient. We demonstrated the presence of unaltered H-ras alleles in normal HS578 cells. In contrast, every clonally derived HS578T tumor cell line analyzed contained the H-ras oncogene possessing the genetic alteration at position 12. These findings establish that activation of this oncogene was the result of a somatic event selected within all HS578T tumor cells.