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Globin expression in Rous sarcoma virus-transformed quail myoblasts.
Progress in Clinical and Biological Research
|January 1, 1983
Summary
Viral transformation blocks muscle cell differentiation by inducing non-muscle gene expression, like globins. These globin transcripts persist even after restoring normal cell development conditions.
Area of Science:
- Cellular biology
- Virology
- Developmental biology
Background:
- Viral transformation can disrupt normal cellular differentiation pathways.
- Primitive muscle cells (myoblasts) and red blood cells (erythroblasts) are examples of cells affected by such disruptions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of viral transformation on quail myoblast differentiation.
- To determine if viral transformation leads to the expression of non-muscle-specific genes in myoblasts.
Main Methods:
- Using a temperature-sensitive (ts) mutant of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) to transform embryonic quail myoblasts.
- Culturing transformed myoblasts at permissive (35°C) and nonpermissive (41°C) temperatures.
- Analyzing gene transcription, specifically for globin genes, using molecular techniques.
Main Results:
- Quail myoblasts transformed with ts-RSV showed blocked differentiation at 35°C but formed myotubes at 41°C.
- Viral transformation induced the transcription of non-muscle-specific globin genes in myoblasts at 35°C.
- Globin transcripts remained detectable in transformed myoblasts even after a shift to the nonpermissive temperature (41°C) for 5 days, indicating persistent expression of both alpha-like and beta-like globins.
Conclusions:
- Viral transformation of myoblasts leads to the aberrant expression of non-muscle genes, such as globins.
- The expression of these non-muscle genes is a persistent effect of viral transformation, occurring even when differentiation is restored.