Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Bcl-2 gene promotes haemopoietic cell survival and cooperates with c-myc to immortalize pre-B cells

Abstract

A common feature of follicular lymphoma, the most prevalent haematological malignancy in humans, is a chromosome translocation (t(14;18)) that has coupled the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus to a chromosome 18 gene denoted bcl-2 (refs 1ā€“6). By analogy with the translocated c-myc oncogene in other B-lymphoid tumours (reviewed in ref. 7), bcl-2 is a candidate oncogene, but no biological effects of bcl-2 have yet been reported. To test whether bcl-2 influences the growth of haematopoietic cells, either alone or together with a deregulated c-myc gene, we have introduced a human bcl-2 complementary DNA (ref. 3) using a retroviral vector into bone marrow cells from either normal or EĀµ-myc transgenic mice, in which B-lineage cells constitutively express the c-myc gene8ā€“10. Bcl-2 cooperated with c-myc to promote proliferation of B-cell precursors, some of which became tumorigenic. To determine how bcl-2 expression impinges on growth factor requirements, the gene was introduced into a lymphoid and a myeloid cell line that require interleukin 3 (IL-3) (refs 11 and 12). In the absence of IL-3, bcl-2 promoted the survival of the infected cells but they persisted in a G0 state, rather than proliferating. These results argue that bcl-2 provided a distinct survival signal to the cell and may contribute to neoplasia by allowing a clone to persist until other oncogenes, such as c-myc, become activated.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Tsujimoto, Y., Cossman, J., Jafle, E. & Croce, C. M. Science 226, 1097ā€“1099 (1984).

    ArticleĀ  ADSĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  2. Bakhshi, A. et al. Cell 41, 899ā€“906 (1985).

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  3. Cleary, M. Smith, S. D. & Sklar, J. Cell 47, 19ā€“28 (1986).

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  4. Seto, M et al. EMBO J. 7, 123ā€“131 (1987).

    ArticleĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  5. Tsujimoto, Y., Ikegaki, N. & Croce, C. M. Oncogene 2, 3ā€“7 (1987).

    CASĀ  PubMedĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  6. Graninger, W. B., Seto, M., Boutain, B., Goldman, P. & Korsmeyer, S. J. J. clin. Invest. 80, 1512ā€“1515 (1987).

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  7. Cory, S. in Advances in Cancer Research Vol. 47 (eds Klein, G. & Weinhouse, S.) 189ā€“234 (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Orlando, 1986).

    Google ScholarĀ 

  8. Adams, J. M. et al. Nature 318, 533ā€“538 (1985).

    ArticleĀ  ADSĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  9. Langdon, W. Y., Harris, A. W., Cory, S. & Adams, J. M. Cell 47, 11ā€“18 (1986).

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  10. Alexander, W. S., Schrader, J. W. & Adams, J. M. Molec. cell. Biol. 7, 1436ā€“1444 (1987).

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  11. Palacios, R., Karasuyama, H. & Rolnick, A. EMBO J. 6, 3687ā€“3693 (1987).

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  12. Dexter, T. M., Garland, J., Scott, D., Scolnick, E. & Metcalf, D. J. exp. Med. 152, 1036ā€“1047 (1980).

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  13. Hariharan, I. K., Adams, J. M. & Cory, S. Oncogene Res. (in the press).

  14. Mann, R., Mulligan, R. C. & Baltimore, D. Cell 33, 153ā€“159 (1983).

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  15. Whitlock, C. A., Tidmarsh, G. F., Muller-Sieberg, C. & Weissmann, I. L. Cell 48, 1009ā€“1021 (1987).

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  16. Cory, S., Bernard, O., Bowtell, D., Schrader, S. & Schrader, J. W. Oncogene Res. 1, 61ā€“76 (1987).

    CASĀ  PubMedĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  17. Cook, W. D., Metcalf, D., Nicola, N. A., Burgess, A. W. & Walker, F. Cell 41, 677ā€“683 (1985).

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  18. Metcalf, D., Roberts, T. M., Cherington, V. & Dunn, A. R. EMBO J. 6, 3703ā€“3709 (1987).

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  19. Wheeler, E. F., Askew, D., Day, D., Ihle, J. N. & Sher, C. J. Molec. cell. Biol. 7, 1673ā€“1680 (1987).

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  20. Whetton, A. D., Heyworth, C. M. & Dexter, T. M. J. Cell. Sci. 84, 93ā€“104 (1986).

    CASĀ  PubMedĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  21. Whetton, A. D. & Dexter, T. M. Nature 303, 629ā€“632 (1983).

    ArticleĀ  ADSĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  22. Jaffe, E. S. J. natn. Cancer Inst. 70, 401ā€“403 (1983).

    CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  23. Freitas, A. A., Rocha, B., Forni, L. & Coutinho, A. J. Immun. 128, 54ā€“60 (1982).

    CASĀ  PubMedĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  24. Gauwerky C. E., Hoxie, J., Nowell, P. C. & Croce, C. M. Oncogene 2, 431ā€“435 (1988).

    CASĀ  PubMedĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  25. Cepko, C. L., Roberts, B. E. & Mulligan, R. C. Cell 37, 1053ā€“1062 (1984).

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  26. Bowtell, D. D. L., Johnson, G. R., Kelso, A. & Cory, S. Molec. biol. Med. 4, 229ā€“250 (1987).

    CASĀ  PubMedĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  27. Korman, A., Frantz, D., Strominger, J. & Mulligan, R. C. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84, 2150ā€“2154 (1987).

    ArticleĀ  ADSĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  28. Taylor, I. W. J. Histochem. Cytochem. 28, 1021ā€“1024 (1980).

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  29. Dean, P. D. Cell Tissue Kinet. 13, 299ā€“308 (1980).

    CASĀ  PubMedĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Vaux, D., Cory, S. & Adams, J. Bcl-2 gene promotes haemopoietic cell survival and cooperates with c-myc to immortalize pre-B cells. Nature 335, 440ā€“442 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/335440a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/335440a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter ā€” what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing