| First Author | Politi K | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | Oncogene | Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 8 | Pages | 1558-65 |
| PubMed ID | 14661057 | Mgi Jnum | J:87544 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3027092 | Doi | 10.1038/sj.onc.1207275 |
| Citation | Politi K, et al. (2004) 'Designer' tumors in mice. Oncogene 23(8):1558-65 |
| abstractText | We have developed and tested successfully a general method based on Cre-mediated recombination that can be used for ubiquitous or tissue-specific expression of protein products, including tumor-inducing oncoproteins. Depending on the specificity of a chosen promoter driving cre expression, tumors develop by design in bitransgenic mouse progeny derived by crossing Cre-producing mice with partners carrying a dormant oncogenic transgene (targeted into the 3' noncoding region of the cytoplasmic beta-actin locus) that becomes functional after excision of a 'floxed' DNA segment. To provide proof-of-principle, we have used as models transgenes encoding the polyomavirus middle T antigen (PVMT) and the T antigens of the SV40 early region (SVER). Cre-dependent activation of widespread SVER expression resulted in hyperplasias or invasive tumors affecting particular visceral smooth muscles, whereas Cre-dependent, mammary gland-specific expression of PVMT-induced adenocarcinomas, according to plan. Unexpectedly, we also encountered spontaneous (Cre-independent) oncogene expression occurring as a rare event, which simulates the initiation of sporadic tumors and leads to PVMT-induced hemangiomas and mammary carcinomas or SVER-induced disseminated sarcomas, thus, revealing particular tissue susceptibilities to the actions of these oncoproteins. |
