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Globin expression in Rous sarcoma virus-transformed quail myoblasts

R L Farrell, V M Ingram

    Progress in Clinical and Biological Research
    |January 1, 1983
    PubMed

    Insights

    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.

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