Molecular mechanisms of malignant conversion in skin carcinogenesis

The elucidation of the cellular and molecular events involved in progressive stages of malignant transformation has been enhanced by the development of new in vitro and in vivo model systems. In the model of chemically induced mouse skin tumors, multiple benign squamous papillomas precede the development of an occasional squamous cell carcinoma. The incidence of carcinomas can be substantially enhanced by treating papilloma-bearing mice with mutagens such as urethane, nitroquinoline-N-oxide, or cisplatinum suggesting that a distinct genetic event is responsible for malignant conversion. The malignant phenotype is characterized by a marked reduction in the transcription of specific epidermal differentiation markers, a pattern which is useful for the early diagnosis of malignant conversion. Cells expressing a benign phenotype can be obtained by introducing the v-ras oncogene into primary epidermal cells or by culturing cells from benign tumors induced by chemical carcinogens in vivo. Benign epidermal tumor cells in culture are good recipients for exogenous DNA and can be used to detect genes involved in malignant conversion. Transfection studies reveal that transforming constructs of the fos oncogene induce malignant conversion, whereas myc and adenovirus E1A oncogenes do not. Malignant tumors induced by fos transfection do not express differentiation-specific epidermal markers and secrete transin and urokinase, proteases characteristic of malignant skin tumors. Introduction of v-ras and v-fos oncogenes into cultured normal epidermal cells is sufficient to produce the malignant phenotype. Alone the v-fos oncogene does not detectably alter the normal phenotype of recipient cells. These studies imply that a limited number of genetic changes is sufficient to produce squamous malignancies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)