The first insight into the activity of tumor suppressor genes came from somatic cell hybridization experiments, initiated by Henry Harris and his colleagues in 1. The fusion of normal cells with tumor cells yielded hybrid cells containing chromosomes from both parents Figure 1. In most cases, such hybrid cells were not capable of forming tumors in animals. Therefore, it appeared that genes derived from the normal cell parent acted to inhibit or suppress tumor development. Definition of these genes at the molecular level came, however, from a different approachthe analysis of rare inherited forms of human cancer. Suppression of tumorigenicity by cell fusion. Fusion of tumor cells with normal cells yields hybrids that contain chromosomes from both parents. The Hollywood Reporter is your source for breaking news about Hollywood and entertainment, including movies, TV, reviews and industry blogs. Such hybrids are usually nontumorigenic. The first tumor suppressor gene was identified by studies of retinoblastoma, a rare childhood eye tumor. Provided that the disease is detected early, retinoblastoma can be successfully treated, and many patients survive to have families. Consequently, it was recognized that some cases of retinoblastoma are inherited. In these cases, approximately 5. Mendelian transmission of a single dominant gene that confers susceptibility to tumor development Figure 1. Inheritance of retinoblastoma. Susceptibility to retinoblastoma is transmitted to approximately 5. Affected and normal indivi duals are indicated by purple and green symbols, respectively. Although susceptibility to retinoblastoma is transmitted as a dominant trait, inheritance of the susceptibility gene is not sufficient to transform a normal retinal cell into a tumor cell. All retinal cells in a patient inherit the susceptibility gene, but only a small fraction of these cells give rise to tumors. Thus, tumor development requires additional events beyond inheritance of tumor susceptibility. In 1. 97. 1, Alfred Knudson proposed that the development of retinoblastoma requires two mutations, which are now known to correspond to the loss of both of the functional copies of the tumor susceptibility gene the Rbtumor suppressor gene that would be present on homologous chromosomes of a normal diploid cell Figure 1. In inherited retinoblastoma, one defective copy of Rb is genetically transmitted. The loss of this single Rb copy is not by itself sufficient to trigger tumor development, but retinoblastoma almost always develops in these individuals as a result of a second somatic mutation leading to the loss of the remaining normal Rballele. Noninherited retinoblastoma, in contrast, is rare, since its development requires two independent somatic mutations to inactivate both normal copies of Rb in the same cell. Mutations of Rb during retinoblastoma development. In hereditary retinoblastoma, a defective copy of the Rb gene Rb is inherited from the affected parent. A second somatic mutation, which inactivates the single normal Rb copy in a retinal cell, then more. The functional nature of the Rbgene as a negative regulator of tumorigenesis was initially indicated by observations of chromosome morphology. Visible deletions of chromosome 1. Rb gene led to tumor development Figure 1. Gene mapping studies further indicated that tumor development resulted from loss of normal Rb alleles in the tumor cells, consistent with the function of Rb as a tumor suppressor gene. Isolation of the Rb gene as a molecular clone in 1. Rb is consistently lost or mutated in retinoblastomas. Gene transfer experiments also demonstrated that introduction of a normal Rb gene into retinoblastoma cells reverses their tumorigenicity, providing direct evidence for the activity of Rb as a tumor suppressor. Rb deletions in retinoblastoma. Many retinoblastomas have deletions of the chromosomal locus 1. Rb gene. Although Rb was identified in a rare childhood cancer, it is also involved in some of the more common tumors of adults. In particular, studies of the cloned gene have established that Rb is lost or inactivated in many bladder, breast, and lung carcinomas. The significance of the Rbtumor suppressor gene thus extends beyond retinoblastoma, apparently contributing to development of a substantial fraction of more common human cancers. In addition, as noted earlier in this chapter, the Rb protein is a key target for the oncogeneproteins of several DNA tumor viruses, including SV4. Rb and inhibit its activity Figure 1. Transformation by these viruses thus results, at least in part, from inactivation of Rb at the protein level rather than from mutational inactivation of the Rb gene. Interaction of Rb with oncogene proteins of DNA tumor viruses. The oncogene proteins of several DNA tumor viruses e. SV4. 0 T antigen induce transformation by binding to and inactivating Rb protein. Characterization of Rb as a tumor suppressor gene served as the prototype for the identification of additional tumor suppressor genes that contribute to the development of many different human cancers Table 1. Some of these genes were identified as the causes of rare inherited cancers, playing a role similar to that of Rb in hereditary retinoblastoma. Other tumor suppressor genes have been identified as genes that are frequently deleted or mutated in common noninherited cancers of adults, such as colon carcinoma. In either case, it appears that most tumor suppressor genes are involved in the development of both inherited and noninherited forms of cancer. Indeed, mutations of some tumor suppressor genes appear to be the most common molecular alterations leading to human tumor development. The second tumor suppressor gene to have been identified is p. In total, mutations of p. It is also of interest that inherited mutations of p. In addition, the p. Rb is a target for the oncogeneproteins of SV4. Like p. 53, the INK4 and PTENtumor suppressor genes are very frequently mutated in several common cancers, including lung cancer, prostate cancer, and melanoma. Two other tumor suppressor genes APC and MADR2 are frequently deleted or mutated in colon cancers. In addition to being involved in noninherited cases of this common adult cancer, inherited mutations of the APCgene are responsible for a rare hereditary form of colon cancer, called familial adenomatous polyposis. Individuals with this condition develop hundreds of benign colon adenomas polyps, some of which almost inevitably progress to malignancy. Inherited mutations of two other tumor suppressor genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, are responsible for hereditary cases of breast cancer, which account for 5 to 1. Additional tumor suppressor genes have been implicated in the development of brain tumors, pancreatic cancers, and basal cell skin carcinomas, as well as in several rare inherited cancer syndromes, such as Wilms tumor. The number of identified tumor suppressor genes is rapidly expanding, and the characterization of these genes remains an active area of cancer research. Functions of Tumor Suppressor Gene Products. In contrast to proto oncogene and oncogene proteins, the proteins encoded by most tumor suppressor genes inhibit cell proliferation or survival. Watch Valiant Cartoon Online. Inactivation of tumor suppressor genes therefore leads to tumor development by eliminating negative regulatory proteins.