T-cell lymphomas mask slower developing B-lymphoid and myeloid tumours in transgenic mice with broad haemopoietic expression of MYC

Oncogene. 2005 May 19;24(22):3544-53. doi: 10.1038/sj.onc.1208399.

Abstract

Deregulation of MYC expression occurs in many haematological malignancies. Previous studies modelling MYC-induced lymphomagenesis in the mouse used transgenic vectors that directed MYC overexpression in a lineage-specific manner. Here, we describe a transgenic mouse strain in which constitutive MYC expression is driven broadly in haemopoiesis by a vector containing regulatory elements of the Vav gene. Healthy young VavP-MYC17 mice had multiple haemopoietic abnormalities, most notably increased size and numbers of B-lymphoid cells, monocytes and megakaryocytes. The mice rapidly developed tumours and, surprisingly, these were exclusively T-cell lymphomas, mostly of mature CD4(+) CD8(-) T cells, a tumour type that is seldom seen in mouse models. To examine tumour development in the absence of the susceptible T cells, we bred VavP-MYC17 mice lacking the Rag1 recombinase. They survived longer and succumbed to tumours of several different haemopoietic cell types: pre-T cells, pro-B cells, macrophages and unusual progenitor cells. Thus, although T-lineage cells have the shortest latent period to transformation, the VavP-MYC17 transgene drives malignant transformation of multiple cell types and VavP-MYC17 mice provide a new model for tumours of multiple haemopoietic lineages.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • B-Lymphocytes / pathology
  • B-Lymphocytes / physiology
  • Blotting, Western
  • Cell Lineage
  • Cell Transformation, Neoplastic*
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Genetic Vectors
  • Hematologic Neoplasms / genetics
  • Hematologic Neoplasms / pathology
  • Humans
  • Lymphoma, T-Cell / genetics
  • Lymphoma, T-Cell / pathology*
  • Megakaryocytes / pathology
  • Megakaryocytes / physiology
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Monocytes / pathology
  • Monocytes / physiology
  • Myeloid Cells / pathology*
  • Myeloid Cells / physiology
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / genetics
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / metabolism*
  • Simian virus 40
  • Transgenes

Substances

  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc