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Expression of Simple Epithelial Cytokeratins in Mouse Epidermal Keratinocytes Harboring Harvey ras Gene Alterations¹

Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas CSIC, Dept. Bioquimica Facultad de Medicina UAM, Arturo Duperier 4, 28029 Madrid [M. D-G., A. C., M. Q.]; CIEMAT, Inst. PRYMA, Dept. Biologia Moleculary Celular, 28040 Madrid, Spain [C. B., J. L. J.]; and Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, Glasgow G61 1BD, United Kingdom [S. H., A. B.]

Activation of a Harvey ras (H-ras) protooncogene is a frequent event associated with mouse epidermal carcinogenesis. We report that the transfection of a human H-ras oncogene into an immortalized mouse epidermal cell line (MCA3D) induces the anomalous expression of cytokeratins (CKs) 8 and 18 characteristic of simple epithelia. The comparison of various transfectant cell clones indicated a direct correlation between the levels of CK8 expression and the mutated H-ras p21s. The expression of simple epithelial CKs is also described in cell lines derived from mouse skin carcinomas (HaCa4, CarC) and in keratinocytes transformed in vitro by a chemical carcinogen (PDV, PDVC57), all of which contain altered H-ras genes. The induction of CK8 and CK18 occurs at the mRNA level and, although both CK8 and CK18 mRNAs are expressed, CK18 protein does not accumulate whereas CK8 is incorporated into intermediate filaments. Immunofluorescence studies show that the pattern of CK8 protein expression is heterogeneous; some cells express very low amounts of CK8, whereas others synthesize relatively high levels of this protein. However, selection of strongly CK8-positive cells was found in one case where a more malignant population of cells (PDVC57) was derived by tumor transplantation of PDV. Our results suggest that activation of a H-ras gene can alter the normal differentiation program of epidermal cells and that the ability to synthesize CK8 and CK18 could be related to tumor progression.

¹ Supported by Grants PM88-004 and PB87-0517 from the DGICYT of Spain. The Beatson Institute is supported by the Cancer Research Campaign of Great Britain. M. D-G. was the recipient of a CSIC postdoctoral fellowship. Part of this work was supported by an EMBO fellowship (M. Q.).

² Present address: Department of Biochemistry, Health Science Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203.

³ To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas CSIC, Arturo Duperier 4, 28029 Madrid, Spain.

Received 6/28/91. Accepted 11/11/91.

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