| First Author | Sarkisian CJ | Year | 2007 |
| Journal | Nat Cell Biol | Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 493-505 |
| PubMed ID | 17450133 | Mgi Jnum | J:123861 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3719771 | Doi | 10.1038/ncb1567 |
| Citation | Sarkisian CJ, et al. (2007) Dose-dependent oncogene-induced senescence in vivo and its evasion during mammary tumorigenesis. Nat Cell Biol 9(5):493-505 |
| abstractText | Activating Ras mutations can induce either proliferation or senescence depending on the cellular context. To determine whether Ras activation has context-dependent effects in the mammary gland, we generated doxycycline-inducible transgenic mice that permit Ras activation to be titrated. Low levels of Ras activation - similar to those found in non-transformed mouse tissues expressing endogenous oncogenic Kras2 - stimulate cellular proliferation and mammary epithelial hyperplasias. In contrast, high levels of Ras activation - similar to those found in tumours bearing endogenous Kras2 mutations - induce cellular senescence that is Ink4a-Arf- dependent and irreversible following Ras downregulation. Chronic low-level Ras induction results in tumour formation, but only after the spontaneous upregulation of activated Ras and evasion of senescence checkpoints. Thus, high-level, but not low-level, Ras activation activates tumour suppressor pathways and triggers an irreversible senescent growth arrest in vivo. We suggest a three-stage model for Ras-induced tumorigenesis consisting of an initial activating Ras mutation, overexpression of the activated Ras allele and, finally, evasion of p53-Ink4a-Arf-dependent senescence checkpoints. |