Showing papers by "Andreas Strasser published in 1994"

The Protein Product of the Oncogene bcl-2 Is a Component of the Nuclear Envelope, the Endoplasmic Reticulum, and the Outer

Abstract: Abstrad The protein produd of the oncogene bcl-2 is a potent inhibitor of apoptotic cell death. The Bcl-2 protein has variously been reported to reside in the nuclear envelope and endoplasmic reticulum or exclusively in the inner membrane of mitochondria. We therefore undertook a detailed analysis of the intracellular distribution of Bcl-2 by immunofluorescence, immunogold eledron microscopy, and subcellular fradionation in three mouse cell lines expressing a human bcl-2 transgene and measured its importation into isolated mitochondria. By these methods, the protein was localized to the nuclear envelope, the endoplasmic reticulum, and the outer mitochondrial membrane. Any proposal for the mechanism by which BcI-2 inhibits apoptosis must therefore accommodate the fad that Bcl-2 localizes to cytoplasmic membranes facing the cytosol.

The protein product of the oncogene bcl-2 is a component of the nuclear envelope, the endoplasmic reticulum, and the outer mitochondrial membrane

Abstract: The protein product of the oncogene bcl-2 is a potent inhibitor of apoptotic cell death. The Bcl-2 protein has variously been reported to reside in the nuclear envelope and endoplasmic reticulum or exclusively in the inner membrane of mitochondria. We therefore undertook a detailed analysis of the intracellular distribution of Bcl-2 by immunofluorescence, immunogold electron microscopy, and subcellular fractionation in three mouse cell lines expressing a human bcl-2 transgene and measured its importation into isolated mitochondria. By these methods, the protein was localized to the nuclear envelope, the endoplasmic reticulum, and the outer mitochondrial membrane. Any proposal for the mechanism by which Bcl-2 inhibits apoptosis must therefore accommodate the fact that Bcl-2 localizes to cytoplasmic membranes facing the cytosol.

Bcl-2 expression promotes B- but not T-lymphoid development in scid mice.

Abstract: Expression of antigen receptors is vital for the development of B and T lymphocytes. In mice with the scid mutation, which are unable to make productive rearrangements of their immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor (TCR) genes, lymphopoiesis aborts at an early stage. The death of the immature lymphocytes by apoptosis is postulated to result from a failure to receive a survival signal induced by receptor engagement. Consistent with this hypothesis, introduction of immunoglobulin or TCR transgenes into scid mice promoted an increase in B- or T-lymphoid cells, respectively. As the protein encoded by the bcl-2 gene can inhibit cell death, we tested whether lymphopoiesis could be rescued in scid mice by crossing in a bcl-2 transgene. Strikingly, the bcl-2/scid mice accumulated almost normal numbers of B-lymphoid cells which lacked surface immunoglobulin but expressed markers of maturity. T-cell development remained blocked. Introducing a TCR transgene enabled bcl-2/scid mice to develop normal numbers of CD4+8+ thymocytes even in the absence of immunological selection, suggesting that T cells become competent to respond to bcl-2 protein only after the TCR complex is displayed at the cell surface.

Positive and negative selection of T cells in T-cell receptor transgenic mice expressing a bcl-2 transgene.

Abstract: To explore the role of bcl-2 in T-cell development, a bcl-2 transgene was introduced into mice expressing a T-cell receptor (TCR) transgene encoding reactivity for the mouse male antigen HY presented by the H-2Db class I antigen of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Normal thymic development is contingent on the ability of immature thymocytes to interact with self-MHC molecules presented by thymic stroma (positive selection). Thus, thymocyte numbers are low in female anti-HY TCR transgenic mice with a nonselecting (H-2Dd) background. Expression of bcl-2 inhibited the death of nonselectable thymocytes since, strikingly, female H-2Dd bcl-2/TCR transgenic mice developed normal numbers of CD4+CD8+ thymocytes, although these did not mature further into functional T cells. Hence, TCR-MHC interaction may induce positive selection through two signals, one which saves cells from death by increasing Bcl-2 synthesis and another which promotes maturation. Male H-2Db anti-HY TCR transgenic mice normally have a very small thymus, due to deletion of the self-reactive T cells. Expression of bcl-2 reduced the efficiency of deletion, since bcl-2/TCR transgenic male mice accumulated 4- to 6-fold more thymocytes than did TCR transgenic male littermates. Anti-HY TCR-expressing cells were also more numerous in the peripheral lymphoid tissues, but these cells expressed abnormally low levels of CD8 co-receptor and were not responsive to the HY antigen. Thus, although bcl-2 expression hampers the deletion of immature self-reactive cells in the thymus, self-tolerance is maintained.

Insights from Transgenic Mice regarding the Role of bcl-2 in Normal and Neoplastic Lymphoid Cells

Abstract: The bcl-2 gene was first discovered by molecular analysis of the 14;18 chromosome translocation which is the hallmark of most cases of human follicular lymphoma. To date, it is unique among proto-oncogenes because, rather than promoting cell proliferation, it fosters cell survival. This review summarizes the impact of constitutive bcl-2 expression on the development and function of lymphocytes as well as their malignant transformation. Expression of a bcl-2 transgene in the B lymphoid compartment profoundly perturbed homeostasis and, depending on the genetic background, predisposed to a severe autoimmune disease resembling human systemic lupus erythematosus. T lymphoid cells from bcl-2 transgenic mice were remarkably resistant to diverse cytotoxic agents. Nevertheless, T lymphoid homeostasis was unaffected and tolerance to self was maintained. Expression of high levels of Bcl-2 facilitated the development of B lymphoid tumours but at relatively low frequency and with long latency. Co-expression of myc and bcl-2, on the other hand, promoted the rapid onset of novel tumours which appeared to derive from a lympho-myeloid stem or progenitor cell. Introduction of the bcl-2 transgene into scid mice facilitated the survival and differentiation of pro-B but not pro-T cells, suggesting that a function necessary to supplement or complement the action of Bcl-2 is expressed later in the T than the B lineage. Crosses of the bcl-2 transgenic mice with p53-/- mice have addressed whether loss of p53 function and gain of bcl-2 function are synergistic for lymphoid cell survival.