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Molecular and Cellular Biology, November 2005, p. 10052-10059, Vol. 25, No. 22
0270-7306/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/MCB.25.22.10052-10059.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Scott A. Troutman,1
Matthew S. Eckman,2
Roderick T. Bronson,3 and
Joseph L. Kissil1*
Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,1 Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts,2 Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 021113
Received 17 June 2005/ Returned for modification 11 July 2005/ Accepted 23 August 2005
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Recently, a truncated form of the 4.1B protein was found in a screen to identify gene products down regulated in adenocarcinoma of the lung (24). This isoform, termed Dal-1, differs from protein 4.1B, as it lacks the unique N-terminal domain, parts of the spectrin-actin binding domain and unique internal domain, and the C-terminal domain. Reintroduction of Dal-1 into non-small cell lung carcinoma, breast carcinoma, and meningioma cell lines resulted in growth suppression (5, 24). Subsequent work has found loss at the chromosome 18p11.3 region, to which Dal-1 is mapped, in 38% of primary non-small cell lung carcinoma tumors (24). In addition, analysis of several meningiomas has shown that Dal-1 expression was lost in 76% of the tumors, at the protein level (6). This may indicate that loss of Dal-1 is an early step in meningioma tumorigenesis (4, 15).
To further elucidate the function of the 4.1B/Dal-1 and determine whether it may play a role in development and tumorigenesis we have generated a mouse deficient for the 4.1B gene. Due to extensive alternative splicing we targeted the second coding exon of the 4.1B locus, which contains sequences coding for the initiating codon of Dal1 (22). We show here that the targeting strategy eliminated the expression of all splice forms of protein 4.1B. Mice that are homozygotes for the targeted allele were viable and born at the expected Mendelian ratio. The mice develop normally, and their survival rate is similar to that of wild-type littermates. Furthermore, these mice did not show an increased disposition towards the development of tumors. Examination of mammary epithelium, brain, and lung tissue from the 4.1B/Dal-1 null mice indicates that the ratios of proliferating and apoptotic cells are similar to those of wild-type littermates. Mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) derived from the mice did not display any growth advantage in comparison to MEFs from wild-type littermates. Collectively, these data show that the protein 4.1B/Dal-1 is dispensable for normal development and that it is not directly involved in the onset of tumorigenesis.
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A clone harboring 4.1B exon 3 was isolated from a 129Sv/J genomic library, using exon 3 as a probe. The clone was cut with StuI, and a 5.5-kb 5' fragment and a 3.8-kb 3' fragment were subcloned into pBlueScript SK. PCR primers with NheI and SalI sites were used to amplify a 3.7-kb 5' arm, and primers with NotI and SalI sites were used to amplify a 3.5-kb 3' arm. Both arms were inserted into pBlueScript. A neomycin selection cassette was inserted in to the SalI site, replacing the sequence between +15 and +145 of exon 3. The entire insert was then subcloned into pPNT to insert a thymidine kinase-negative selection cassette at the 5' end. A 40-µg volume of linearized vector was electroporated into J1 embryonic stem (ES) cells, and clones were selected in 400 µg/ml of G418 (Gibco). Clones were picked, expanded, and examined by Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA cut with KpnI by use of probes P1 and P2 (see Fig. 1A). Two positive clones were injected into blastocysts to generate chimeric mice.
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FIG. 1. Generation and characterization of 4.1B-deficient mice. (A) Schematic depiction of the wild-type 4.1B allele, targeting vector and targeted 4.1B loci. K = KpnI, St = StuI, SI = SalI, P1 and P2 = probes 1 and 2, and G2, G4, and P1225 = genotyping primers. (B) Representative Southern blot analysis for the presence of a properly targeted 4.1B allele in ES cells. Clone 22 carries the modified allele. (C) Genotyping of 4.1B+/+ (WT), 4.1B+/, and 4.1B/ mice by PCR analysis. 310 = wild-type band, 610 = mutant band. (D) Western blot analysis of 4.1B in protein extracts prepared from brains and lungs of wild-type, 4.1B+/, and 4.1B/ mice. An actin antibody was employed to control for equivalent protein loading on the gel.
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Western blot analysis. For Western blotting, tissues were homogenized in extraction buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl [pH 8], 150 mM NaCl, 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate, 0.5% NP-40, 0.1% sodium deoxycholate, 1 mM NaVO4, and protease inhibitors) using a Dounce homogenizer. Protein was separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, transferred to Immobilon filters (Millipore), blocked in 5% milk in Tris-buffered saline with 0.2% Tween 20, hybridized with primary and secondary antibodies, developed with ECL (Pharmacia), and exposed to film. The primary antibodies used to detect 4.1B were a rabbit polyclonal generated against a glutathione S-transferase fusion to residues P612-L804 of rat KIAA0987 (26) and a goat polyclonal raised against a peptide derived from the unique U2 region of 4.1B (14).
Immunohistochemistry. Sections from brain, lung, and mammary tissue were harvested and sectioned as previously described (9, 13). The sections were stained with an antibody specific to the Ki-67 antigen (NCL-L-Ki67-MM1; Novocastra), employing a M.O.M. blocking kit (PK-2200; Vector Labs). To assess cell death, the sections were stained with a rabbit monoclonal antibody specific to cleaved caspase 3 (clone 5A1; Cell Signaling Technology). Biotinylated secondary antibodies were used, and the sections were then incubated with Vectstain ABC reagent (PK-6100; Vector Laboratories) and developed with NovaRed substrate (SK-4800; Vector Laboratories). The sections were counterstained with hematoxylin (Sigma). Images were obtained with a Zeiss Axiovert microscope using a 63x oil-immersion objective. For quantification, Ki-67 or cleaved caspase 3-positive cells were scored and compared to the total number of nuclei in the frame. In each group at least three animals were scored, and five separate frames were counted from each slide and averaged.
Histology. Tissues were collected and fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin. The various organs were separated and embedded in paraffin, cut in 4-µm sections, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Blood samples were collected from capillaries, and hematocrit levels were determined by centrifugation. Blood smears were stained with Wright-Gimesa stain and examined microscopically.
Cell culture and proliferation assays. MEFs were prepared from embryonic day 13.5 embryos, as previously described (18). For all assays passage 3 cells were employed. For cell proliferation assays, 3 x 104 cells/well were plated in 12-well dishes and fed with Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium10% IFS or Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium1% IFS every other day. The numbers of cells were counted daily. The 3T3 cell assays and assays of growth at low and high density were done as previously described (18).
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Animals deficient for 4.1B/Dal-1 develop normally and do not show a predisposition towards cancer. The 4.1B/ mice were born at the expected Mendelian ratio. The 4.1B/ mice were fertile and produced normal-sized litters of 4.1B-deficient mice. We carefully examined the gross anatomy and histology of the mice and found no differences from the wild type. Close histological preparations from tissue expressing high levels of 4.1B, including lung, brain, and kidney tissue, are shown in Fig. 2. In all organs and tissue examined no obvious pathological abnormalities were detected, and the phenotypes of the 4.1B/ mice were indistinguishable from those of their wild-type littermates. The kidneys displayed a normal structure, as did the lungs, which displayed normal alveolar and bronchiolar architecture. Careful examination of the brain found no indication of structural abnormalities, size differences, layering defects, or cellular defects.
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FIG. 2. Normal histology and survival of 4.1B/ mice. Histological appearance of tissue sections from adult 4.1B/ (A, C, E, and G) and wild-type (B, D, F, and H) mice. Representative x10-magnification sections stained with hematoxylin-eosin are shown. (A to D) Coronal sections through hippocampus (A to B) and cerebellum (C to D) are shown. (E to H) Lung (E to F) and kidney (G to H) sections are shown. (I) The survival rate of 4.1B/ mice (n = 16) versus wild-type (W.T.) litter mates (n = 16) over time is represented by a Kaplan-Meier plot.
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4.1B/Dal-1/ mice do not display altered cell proliferation or cell death rates in brain, lung, or mammary tissue. Dal-1 was originally isolated as down regulated in adenocarcinoma of the lung (24). It is also highly expressed in the brain and was shown to be up regulated in the mammary epithelium specifically during pregnancy (13). We therefore assessed whether the loss of 4.1B resulted in alterations in cell proliferation or cell death in these tissues in vivo. We examined sections of brain, lung, and mammary epithelium from the 4.1B/Dal-1/ mice, by immunohistochemistry, and compared them to sections from wild-type littermates. Staining for the Ki-67 antigen was employed as a marker for cellular proliferation (19), and staining for cleaved caspase 3 served as a marker for apoptotic cells. When examining the numbers of Ki-67-positive cells in mammary epithelium from mature virgin 4.1B/Dal-1/ mice and their wild-type littermates, we found that the proliferative indices for the mammary epithelium were 0.08% and 0.1%, respectively. Similarly, comparing lung tissue from these groups we found that the numbers of proliferating cells in the lung epithelium were 0.08% in the wild-type and 0.07% in the 4.1B/Dal-1/ mice. Close examination of the various regions of the brain failed to detect any significant differences between the wild-type and 4.1B/Dal-1/ mice. As an example, the proliferative indices in inner layer of the cerebellum were 0.09% and 0.07%, respectively. Overall, none of the differences were statistically significant (Fig. 3A and 3B). This indicates that the loss of 4.1B/Dal-1 does not result in increased cellular proliferation in the brain, lung, or mammary epithelium in vivo. Likewise, when comparing numbers of apoptotic cells in the lung and mammary epithelium, we did not observe significant differences in the apoptotic rates between the two groups of mice. For the lung tissue the apoptotic index was 0.06% in wild-type versus 0.4% in 4.1B/Dal-1/ mice. For the mammary tissue the apoptotic index was around 0.01% in both groups of mice. For the brain tissue the apoptotic index was 0.02% in wild-type versus 0.015% in 4.1B/Dal-1/ mice (Fig. 3C). Again, these differences are not significant. This indicates that the loss of 4.1B/Dal-1 does not affect the rate of apoptosis in the lung or mammary epithelium in vivo.
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FIG. 3. Cell proliferation and cell death in the brain, lung, and mammary tissue of 4.1B/ mice. (A) Immunohistochemical analysis of Ki-67-positive cells in cerebellum, lung, and mammary tissue of 4.1B/ versus wild-type mice. (B) Cell proliferation rates in the brain, lung, and mammary epithelium of 4.1B/ versus wild-type littermates. (C) Cell death rates in the brain, lung, and mammary epithelium of 4.1B/ versus wild-type littermates. The sections are representative of three different animals from each group. The differences are not statistically significant.
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FIG. 4. Growth characteristics of 4.1B/ MEFs. (A) Cell proliferation as measured by increases in cell numbers over time at both high (10%) and low (1%) serum levels. (B) Cell proliferation on a 3T3 cell assay. Cumulative proliferation ratios were measured for passages 3 through 8. (C) Focus formation assay of cell cultures grown for 21 days. Cells were stained with crystal violet, and the presence of foci was scored visually. All data are representative of three independent experiments done with at least two independent MEF clones from each genotype. The differences are not statistically significant.
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Dal-1 was originally identified by differential-display PCR as down regulated in adenocarcinoma of the lung (24). It is a truncated form of protein 4.1B, and its expression was also found to be down regulated in meningiomas (5). However, this reduction in Dal-1 expression could be coincidental or even secondary to a primary lesion leading to tumorigenesis. Events of chromosomal loss at chromosome 18p have been found to be a frequent occurrence in lung, brain, and breast tumors and in meningiomas (4, 5, 15, 23, 24). Alas, studies examining the remaining allele of 4.1B have failed to detect any mutations (4, 7, 12). It is possible that other mechanisms may account for the lack of mutations, such as epigenetic modifications of the 4.1B allele. Further studies will be required to determine whether indeed this is the case. Another possibility is that the losses observed for 18p11.3 represent an event of loss of heterozygosity for a different gene, at this locus, which functions as a tumor suppressor gene. Possible candidates include the protein tyrosine phosphotase PTPN2 and the thymidylate synthase gene (8, 10, 11, 25).
To assess the potential growth-suppressive ability of 4.1B we examined brain, lung, and mammary tissue sections of 4.1B/Dal-1/ mice for changes in cell proliferation or death rates. In addition, we also employed MEFs from the 4.1B-deficient animals. Our findings indicate that loss of 4.1B does not result in deregulation of cell growth, as the growth characteristics of various cell types in the 4.1B/ brain, lung, or mammary tissues and MEFs were indistinguishable from wild-type cells. This indicates that 4.1B does not function as a growth suppressor in the cells and tissues examined. We have also recently found that while 4.1B/Dal-1 is not expressed in virgin murine mammary gland epithelium, it is dramatically up regulated during pregnancy. Close examination of the 4.1B/ mice indicates that 4.1B loss does not affect cell proliferation in virgin, lactating, or involuting mammary glands but results in a significant increase in mammary epithelial cell proliferation specifically only during pregnancy (13). These findings indicate that 4.1B might play a role in regulating mammary epithelial cell proliferation during pregnancy. However, we have not detected an increased rate of mammary tumors in multiparous 4.1B/Dal-1/ females (J. L. Kissil, unpublished results).
As the loss of 4.1B alone in the mouse did not lead to increased rates of cancer it cannot be classified as a tumor suppressor gene, at least not in our model system. It is possible that loss of 4.1B may alter the spectrum of tumors in the background of additional cancer-promoting mutations. This is currently under investigation.
Present address: Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030. ![]()
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