Enhanced tumor cell growth suppression by an N-terminal truncated retinoblastoma protein

The retinoblastoma (RB) gene encodes a nuclear phosphoprotein of 928 amino acids (pRB). Thus far, much effort in RB research has been focused on both the viral oncoprotein-binding domains and the C-terminal domain, whereas little is known about the N-terminal moiety of the protein. We report here that an N-terminal truncated RB protein of approximately 94 kDa (pRB94) exerts more potent cell growth suppression as compared to the full-length pRB protein in a diversity of tumor cell lines examined, including those having a normal endogenous RB gene. Tumor cells transfected with the pRB94-expressing plasmids displayed multiple morphological changes frequently associated with cellular senescence and/or apoptosis. They failed to enter S phase and rapidly died. The pRB94 expressed in recipient tumor cells had a longer half-life than the full-length pRB protein and tended to remain in an active un- or hypophosphorylated form. Since it has also been found that N-terminal truncated RB proteins often accumulated in growth-arrested and/or differentiated tumor cells, we suggest that N-terminal truncation of pRB may be one of the cellular mechanisms modulating the RB protein function in cell-cycle control.