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Mol. Cell. Biol., 02 1997, 723-731, Vol 17, No. 2
JE Hundley, SK Koester, DA Troyer, SG Hilsenbeck, MA Subler and JJ Windle
We have used an in vivo tumor model to evaluate the consequences of p53
tumor suppressor protein deficiency in a tissue-specific context. By
breeding MMTV-ras transgenic mice, which are highly susceptible to the
development of mammary and salivary tumors, with p53(-/-) mice, we
generated three classes of animals which contained the MMTV-ras transgene
but differed in their p53 functional status (ras/p53(+/+), ras/p53(+/-), or
ras/p53(-/-)). ras/p53(-/-) mice developed tumors more rapidly than animals
of the other two genotypes; however, the distribution of tumors was
unexpectedly altered. Whereas the most frequently observed tumors in
ras/p53(+/+) and ras/p53(+/-) mice were of mammary origin, ras/p53(-/-)
mice developed primarily salivary tumors. In addition, the mammary and
salivary tumors from ras/p53(-/-) mice consistently exhibited a number of
unfavorable characteristics, including higher histologic grades, increased
growth rates, and extensive genomic instability and heterogeneity, relative
to tumors from ras/p53(+/+) mice. Interestingly, the increased growth rates
of ras/p53(-/-) tumors appear to be due to impaired cell cycle regulation
rather than decreased apoptosis, suggesting that p53-mediated tumor
suppression can occur independent of its role in apoptosis.
Copyright © 1997, American Society for Microbiology
Increased tumor proliferation and genomic instability without decreased apoptosis in MMTV-ras mice deficient in p53
Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 78284, USA.
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