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J H Pierce

Publications and source records attributed to J H Pierce.

150 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

Hematopoietic cell transformation by a murine recombinant retrovirus containing the src gene of Rous sarcoma virus.

A recombinant murine retrovirus (MRSV) containing the src gene of avian Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) was shown to induce hematopoietic colonies in infected mouse bone marrow. MRSV-induced colony formation followed single-hit kinetics and required mercaptoethanol in the agar medium. Cells from the colonies induced by MRSV could be established as continuous cell lines that demonstrated unrestricted self-renewal in vitro and tumorigenicity in vivo. The transformants, all of which expressed high levels of the Rous sarcoma virus transforming protein, pp60src, appeared to be at an early stage in lymphoid cell differentiation. They lacked Fc receptors and detectable immunoglobulin mu heavy chain synthesis, markers normally associated with committed B cells. The majority of the MRSV-transformed cell lines contained high levels of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase, an enzyme present in lymphoid progenitor cells committed to the T-cell lineage. One cell line expressed Thy-1 antigen, but none expressed Lyt-1 and Lyt-2, markers of more differentiated T cells. These findings demonstrate that the src gene is capable of transforming cells of hematopoietic origin.

Animals↗

Transforming genes of human hematopoietic tumors: frequent detection of ras-related oncogenes whose activation appears to be independent of tumor phenotype.

We surveyed 22 human hematopoietic tumors and tumor cell lines for sequences capable of transforming NIH 3T3 cells by DNA transfection. A primary human acute myelogenous leukemia, a chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line, and cell lines derived from three independent acute lymphocytic leukemias demonstrated oncogenes capable of conferring the transformed phenotype to NIH 3T3 cells through serial cycles of transfection. One of three transforming genes associated with acute lymphocytic leukemia cells (classified as thymocyte developmental stage II) was identified as the activated cellular homologue of the Kirsten murine sarcoma virus onc gene, kis, a member of the ras family of onc genes. A transforming gene, which was demonstrated to be common to several human myeloid and lymphoid tumor cells, was shown to be a distantly related member of the ras gene family. Thus, the NIH 3T3 transfection assay commonly detects related oncogenes in human hematopoietic tumor cells. Moreover, the activation of these oncogenes appears to be independent of the specific stage of cell differentiation or tumor phenotype.

Alleles↗

In vitro transformation of murine pre-B lymphoid cells by Snyder-Theilen feline sarcoma virus.

Snyder-Theilen feline sarcoma virus (ST-FeSV) codes for a protein kinase with specificity for tyrosine residues (Barbacid et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77:5158-5163, 1980), properties analogous to those of the transforming gene product of Abelson murine leukemia virus (Witte et al., Nature (London) 283:826-831, 1980). In the present report, ST-FeSV was demonstrated to transform murine hematopoietic cells under in vitro assay conditions which detect lymphoid cell transformation by Abelson murine leukemia virus. Bone marrow colony formation was shown to require ST-FeSV, follow single-hit kinetics, and require the presence of mercaptoethanol in the agar medium. ST-FeSV-induced colonies could be established in culture as continuous cell lines that demonstrated unrestricted self-renewal capacity and leukemogenicity in vivo. The hematopoietic blast cells transformed by ST-FeSV in culture appeared to be at an early stage of B cell differentiation. They possessed Lyb 2 surface antigens, were dependent on mercaptoethanol for growth, and contained only low levels of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase. Moreover, a large fraction of the lines synthesized immunoglobulin mu chain in the absence of light chains. Thus, the phenotype of ST-FeSV hematopoietic transformants was indistinguishable from that of the pre-B lymphoblast transformants induced by Abelson murine leukemia virus. These findings indicate that the in vitro functional similarities in the onc gene products of ST-FeSV and Abelson murine leukemia virus may reflect a common pathway by which they exert their oncogenic potential.

Animals↗

BALB- and Harvey-murine sarcoma virus transformation of a novel lymphoid progenitor cell.

BALB- and Harvey-murine sarcoma viruses (MSV) comprise a family of retroviruses whose mouse- and rat-derived onc genes are closely related. These viruses induce sarcomas and erythroleukemias in susceptible animals. An in vitro colony assay that detects transformation of lymphoid cells by Abelson-murine leukemia virus was used to demonstrate that BALB- and Harvey-MSV transform a novel hematopoietic cell both in culture and in vivo. Bone marrow colony formation was sarcoma virus dependent, followed single-hit kinetics, and required the presence of mercaptoethanol in the agar medium. BALB- and Harvey-MSV-induced colonies could be established in culture as continuous cell lines that demonstrated unrestricted self-renewal capacity and leukemogenicity in vivo. The cells had a blast cell morphology and lacked detectable markers of mature cells within the myeloid or erythroid series. They also lacked detectable immunoglobulin mu chain or Thy-1 antigen, markers normally associated with committed cells of the B and T lymphoid lineages, respectively. However, the transformants contained very high levels of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT), an enzyme believed to be specific to early stages within the lymphoid differentiation pathway. This phenotype distinguishes these BALB- and Harvey-MSV transformants from any previously reported hematopoietic targets of transforming retroviruses, including the pre-B lymphoid cell transformed by Abelson-MuLV under identical assay conditions. These newly identified lymphoid progenitor cell transformants may provide an important means of studying early stages of lymphoid ontogeny and the possible role of TdT in lymphoid development.

Animals↗