Biomedical subjects

M H Kraus

Publications and source records attributed to M H Kraus.

43 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1986

A novel human gene closely related to the abl proto-oncogene.

A DNA sequence related to the abl proto-oncogene was identified in human placenta. Molecular cloning and nucleotide sequence analysis revealed two putative exons whose predicted amino acid sequence was most homologous to the corresponding sequences of c-abl and v-abl but was related to other tyrosine kinase genes as well. The new sequence was localized by in situ hybridization and somatic cell genetic analysis to human chromosome 1q24-25, which differs from the location of any previously identified tyrosine kinase gene. The detection of a novel 12-kb transcript by this gene in human normal and tumor cells establishes it as a new member of the tyrosine kinase family that is closely related to but distinct from c-abl.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1986

Mammalian cell transformation by a murine retrovirus vector containing the avian erythroblastosis virus erbB gene.

A recombinant murine retrovirus vector containing the v-erbB gene of avian erythroblastosis virus was constructed to investigate v-erbB as a transforming gene for mammalian cells. A restriction fragment containing the v-erbB sequences from a molecular clone of avian erythroblastosis virus was inserted into a Moloney murine leukemia virus vector. The construct, designated MuLV/erbB, transformed NIH 3T3 cells at a high efficiency in the DNA transfection assay. Individual MuLV/erbB transfectants grew in soft agar and were tumorigenic. The transfectants contained v-erbB DNA sequences, expressed v-erbB-specific transcripts, and synthesized v-erbB-related glycoproteins. The majority of transfectants produced two major v-erbB gene products of 58 and 66 kilodaltons. However, some transfectants produced much smaller v-erbB-specific proteins. Tunicamycin experiments revealed that the size heterogeneity observed between different transfectants was not due to variations in glycoprotein processing, implying that, in some cases, alterations in the MuLV/erbB genome occurred during the transfection process. These findings indicate that expression of the complete v-erbB gene product is not required for transformation of NIH 3T3 cells. A transmissible murine v-erbB (M-erbB) virus was generated by infection of nonproducer transfectants with amphotrophic murine leukemia virus. Transmission of the rescued M-erbB virus was confirmed by DNA, RNA, and protein analyses. The introduction of a transforming v-erbB gene into mammalian cells by virus infection provides a means of analyzing the mechanism by which this epidermal growth factor receptor-related gene alters the growth and differentiation of cells from various lineages.

Alpharetrovirus↗

PubMed1986

High frequency of N-ras activation in acute myelogenous leukemia.

Using the NIH/3T3 cell transfection assay, activated cellular oncogenes have been detected in around 10% to 20% of human tumors. From a series of DNA preparations from tissues infiltrated with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), 50% (3/6) caused transformation of NIH/3T3 cells. Thus AML appears to be the human tumor with the highest frequency of oncogenes detected by DNA transfection. In each case the oncogene involved was N-ras, a member of the ras gene family. Biologic and clinical parameters of AML patients with and without N-ras oncogenes in their tumors are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Human tumor cell lines with EGF receptor gene amplification in the absence of aberrant sized mRNAs.

A survey of human tumor cell lines for increased PDGF or EGF receptors identified 5 lines which bind from 6 to 13 times more EGF than normal human fibroblasts. Immunoprecipitation analysis links the elevated binding activity to increased quantities of the EGF receptor protein. EGF receptor gene amplification was detected in 2 of the cell lines. No evidence for EGF receptor gene rearrangements was found at the level of DNA or RNA structure. The results suggest that elevated levels of EGF receptor can be associated with at least three distinct mechanisms. These include gene amplification accompanied by rearrangement, gene amplification without accompanied alteration of mRNA transcripts, and extensive expression without gene amplification.

Epidermal Growth Factor↗

PubMed1985

Amplification of a novel v-erbB-related gene in a human mammary carcinoma.

The cellular gene encoding the receptor for epidermal growth factor (EGF) has considerable homology to the oncogene of avian erythroblastosis virus. In a human mammary carcinoma, a DNA sequence was identified that is related to v-erbB but amplified in a manner that appeared to distinguish it from the gene for the EGF receptor. Molecular cloning of this DNA segment and nucleotide sequence analysis revealed the presence of two putative exons in a DNA segment whose predicted amino acid sequence was closely related to, but different from, the corresponding sequence of the erbB/EGF receptor. Moreover, this DNA segment identified a 5-kilobase transcript distinct from the transcripts of the EGF receptor gene. Thus, a new member of the tyrosine kinase proto-oncogene family has been identified on the basis of its amplification in a human mammary carcinoma.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1985

Frequency of molecular alterations affecting ras protooncogenes in human urinary tract tumors.

Members of the ras gene family are activated as oncogenes in many different human cancers. To systematically determine the frequency at which such genes might be involved in the neoplastic process affecting a specific target tissue, urothelial cells, we surveyed a large series of urinary tract tumors for ras oncogenes by DNA transfection and by molecular genetic analysis. Harvey (Ha)-ras oncogenes were detected in 2 of 38 tumors by transfection, molecularly cloned in biologically active form, and shown to contain single base changes at codon 61 leading to substitutions of arginine and leucine, respectively, for glutamine at this position. One additional Ha-ras oncogene was identified in a bladder carcinoma by restriction polymorphisms at codon 12. In one of 21 tumors, we observed a 40-fold amplification of the Kirsten (Ki)-ras gene. No amplification of other ras genes was detected in any of the tumors analyzed. Our findings strengthen the conclusion that codons 12 and 61 are the major "hot spots" of ras oncogene activation and suggest that quantitative alterations in expression due to gene amplification may provide an alternative mechanism for ras gene activation in primary human tumors.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1984

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.

Amino Acid Sequence↗