Depression of catalase gene expression after immortalization and transformation of mouse liver cells

To understand the molecular basis of the remarkable decrease of catalase activity after immortalization and malignant transformation of mouse liver cells, expression of the catalase gene was studied in in vivo mouse liver cells and nontransformed normal mouse liver cell line as well as liver cell lines transformed by N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, SV40 virus or by conventional subcultivation. In vivo liver cells had much greater levels of catalase mRNA and immunoreactive protein than in vitro cell lines, which correlates with elevated enzyme activity. Among the cell lines, normal cells had in general higher mRNA levels and more catalase protein than that of the transformed cell lines, also correlating with enzyme activity. The down regulation of catalase gene expression seen in transformed lines may occur transcriptionally rather than posttranscriptionally as demonstrated by cycloheximide and/or actinomycin D treatment. The striking difference in catalase gene expression seen between liver tissue and liver cell lines was unlikely due to gross structural alterations in the catalase gene, but might be explained by a remarkable difference in methylation status of the catalase gene, as demonstrated by Southern blot analysis following HpaII digestion. Our results suggested that during cellular immortalization and malignant transformation, a change in the oxidant stress ultimately led to a cellular response that, in turn, led to down regulation of the catalase gene.