Tumor induction by v-Jun homodimers in chickens

To study the contribution of v-Jun homodimers to oncogenesis, we constructed artificial v-Jun derivatives in which the natural dimerization domain of v-Jun was replaced by an heterologous homodimerization domain from either the viral EB1 or the yeast GCN4 transcription factor. The resulting v-Jun chimeric proteins, called v-Juneb1 and v-Jungcn4, which can no longer dimerize with Jun or Fos, should only form homodimers in the cell. Helper-independent retroviruses expressing v-Jun, v-Juneb1 and v-Jungcn4 were generated. All three viruses transformed primary cultures of chick embryo cells with the same high efficiency and promoted local tumor growth after subcutaneous injection of infected cells in young animals. In contrast, after intravenous injection of viral suspensions into chick embryos, only the chimeric proteins produced internal tumors that were lethal. These tumors were leiomyosarcomas located within the liver and along the digestive tract. Thus, in vivo, v-Juneb1 and v-Jungcn4 are more potent oncoproteins than v-Jun. These data demonstrate that when forced to accumulate, v-Jun homodimers can induce tumors efficiently. They also show that the oncogenic potential of v-Jun can be regulated through the properties of its dimerization domain.