Abstract
Neoplastic transformation mediated by ras oncogenes is associated with down-regulation of gene expression. We have constructed a subtracted complementary DNA library from preneoplastic rat 208F fibroblasts by hybridizing with mRNA from a ras-transformed subclone. One of the complementary DNA clones identified by this approach encodes the 3′ end of lysyl oxidase, the homologue of the mouse ras recision gene. Expression of lysyl oxidase was almost completely down-regulated in two clones of H-ras-transformed 208F cells (FE-8 and FE-56). We isolated a set of spontaneous phenotypic revertants of FE-8 cells (designated FSR) by cloning at limiting dilution. FSR revertant clones expressed high levels of lysyl oxidase and H-ras mRNA but grew only poorly in semisolid agar medium as opposed to anchorage-independent parental FE-8 cells. We obtained subclones of FSR cells which displayed again the transformed morphology of FE-8 cells but required anchorage for growth and continued to express high levels of lysyl oxidase mRNA. Thus, expression of lysyl oxidase correlated with the suppression of anchorage-independent growth rather than with flat morphology. Lysyl oxidase might be a useful marker to distinguish between different aspects of reversion and transformation.
Footnotes
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↵1 Our work is supported by Schweizerischer Nationalfonds (Grant 31.32254.91 to R. S.) and Swiss Cancer League.
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The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
- Received April 20, 1993.
- Accepted July 26, 1993.
- ©1993 American Association for Cancer Research.
Volume 53, Issue 19
