Simian virus 40 (SV40) encodes a powerful oncoprotein, large T antigen, that is capable of inducing tumors in animals and transforming cells in culture. T antigen acts in part by inhibiting the action of two tumor suppressor proteins, members of the retinoblastoma (Rb) family, and p53. Several lines of evidence indicate that T antigen has additional functions that contribute to transformation as well. Most studies of SV40 transformation have made use of cultured cells. In this application we propose to study the effects of T antigen expression on the growth-arrested enterocytes and continuously cycling progenitor cells of the mouse small intestine. Because the cycling cells residing in the crypts and the terminally differentiated cells occupying the villi can be isolated, this system allows a combined genetic and biochemical approach to dissecting T antigen's transforming functions. We have found that the transformation of terminally- differentiated enterocytes is dependent on the transcription factor E2F2. In contrast normal intestinal crypt cell proliferation does not require any of the activating E2Fs. The goals of this application are to: (1) determine if T antigen action on the Rb and p53 pathways is sufficient for transformation of crypt epithelial cells;(2) assess the mechanisms allowing cell proliferation to proceed in normal crypts in the absence of E2F1-2-3 and, (3) determine whether the activating E2Fs (E2F1, E2F2, and E2F3a) are required to establish repression of E2F-target genes?
This project uses the DNA tumor virus SV40 to probe mechanisms of cellular growth control and tissue homeostasis. Understanding these mechanisms should lead to better therapies for cancer and may suggest approaches for the treatment of certain degenerative diseases.
| Kent, Lindsey N; Bae, Sooin; Tsai, Shih-Yin et al. (2017) Dosage-dependent copy number gains in E2f1 and E2f3 drive hepatocellular carcinoma. J Clin Invest 127:830-842 |
| Trikha, P; Sharma, N; Pena, C et al. (2016) E2f3 in tumor macrophages promotes lung metastasis. Oncogene 35:3636-46 |
| Tang, Xing; Liu, Huayang; Srivastava, Arunima et al. (2016) Transcriptome regulation and chromatin occupancy by E2F3 and MYC in mice. Sci Data 3:160008 |
| Kent, Lindsey N; Rakijas, Jessica B; Pandit, Shusil K et al. (2016) E2f8 mediates tumor suppression in postnatal liver development. J Clin Invest 126:2955-69 |
| Liu, Huayang; Tang, Xing; Srivastava, Arunima et al. (2015) Redeployment of Myc and E2f1-3 drives Rb-deficient cell cycles. Nat Cell Biol 17:1036-48 |
| Gupta, Tushar; Sáenz Robles, Maria Teresa; Pipas, James M (2015) Cellular transformation of mouse embryo fibroblasts in the absence of activator E2Fs. J Virol 89:5124-33 |
| Sáenz Robles, Maria Teresa; Chong, Jean Leon; Koivisto, Christopher et al. (2014) Viral oncogene expression in the stem/progenitor cell compartment of the mouse intestine induces adenomatous polyps. Mol Cancer Res 12:1355-64 |
| Seneca, Nicole T M; Sáenz Robles, Maria Teresa; Pipas, James M (2014) Removal of a small C-terminal region of JCV and SV40 large T antigens has differential effects on transformation. Virology 468-470:47-56 |
| Cecchini, Matthew J; Thwaites, Michael J; Talluri, Srikanth et al. (2014) A retinoblastoma allele that is mutated at its common E2F interaction site inhibits cell proliferation in gene-targeted mice. Mol Cell Biol 34:2029-45 |
| Forero, Adriana; Giacobbi, Nicholas S; McCormick, Kevin D et al. (2014) Simian virus 40 large T antigen induces IFN-stimulated genes through ATR kinase. J Immunol 192:5933-42 |
Showing the most recent 10 out of 21 publications
