High levels of phosphorylated c-Jun, Fra-1, Fra-2 and ATF-2 proteins correlate with malignant phenotypes in the multistage mouse skin carcinogenesis model
V. Zoumpourlis et al., High levels of phosphorylated c-Jun, Fra-1, Fra-2 and ATF-2 proteins correlate with malignant phenotypes in the multistage mouse skin carcinogenesis model, ONCOGENE, 19(35), 2000, pp. 4011-4021
Analysis of the functions of AP-1 transcription factor in cellular systems
has shown its key role as a mediator of oncogenic signals. The employment o
f suitable animal model systems greatly facilitates the study of changes in
the composition and activity of the AP-1 complex. Here, we have analysed t
he quantitative and qualitative changes of AP-1 at different stages of carc
inogenesis in mouse skin cell lines, derived from tumours induced by chemic
al mutagens. The findings of this study suggest that elevated AP-1 DNA bind
ing and transactivation activity characterize the carcinoma cell lines, mos
t notably the highly malignant spindle carcinomas. In addition, increased a
mounts and post-translational modifications of c-Jun, Fra-1, Fra-2 and ATF-
2 proteins account for a high percentage of the increased AP-1 activity. Re
markably, high levels of phosphorylated ATF-2 protein were detected in mali
gnant cell lines, indicating a novel role of ATF-2 in tumour progression. c
-Jun and ATF-2 proteins are phosphorylated by highly active JNK kinases pre
sent in tumour cells. Finally, our results indicate distinct functions for
different AP-1 components in the promotion and progression of mouse skin tu
mours.