Two species of human CRK cDNA encode proteins with distinct biological activities

Two distinct human CRK cDNAs, designated CRK-I and CRK-II, were isolated from human embryonic lung cells by polymerase chain reaction and by screening of a human placenta cDNA library, respectively. CRK-I differed from CRK-II in that it lacked a 170-nucleotide sequence, suggesting that CRK-I and CRK-II were the products of alternative splicing. The amino acid sequences deduced from these two cDNAs differed in the carboxyl termini and contained one SH2 and either one or two SH3 domains. RNAse protection analysis demonstrated both CRK-I and CRK-II mRNAs in various human cells. Three CRK proteins, of 42, 40, and 28 kDa, were identified in human embryonic lung cells by means of antibodies against the SH2 region and the SH3 region of the bacterially expressed CRK-I protein. Transient expression of CRK-I and CRK-II cDNAs in COS7 cells showed that the former encoded the 28-kDa protein and the latter encoded the 40- and 42-kDa proteins. All human cell lines so far examined expressed the 40-kDa protein; however, expression of the 28- and the 42-kDa proteins was variable. In a comparison of the biological activity of the two human CRK proteins, both proteins were stably expressed in rat 3Y1 cells. All cell lines expressing CRK-I protein showed altered morphology, proliferated in soft agar, and grew as massive tumors in nude mice. Although CRK-II-expressing cells showed a slight morphologic change, they did not make colonies in soft agar or grow in nude mice. These results demonstrate that the two species of human CRK cDNA encode proteins which differ in their biological activities.