ENHANCED GENE-EXPRESSION OF THE MURINE ECOTROPIC RETROVIRAL RECEPTOR AND ITS HUMAN HOMOLOG IN PROLIFERATING CELLS

The receptor for gp70 envelope glycoprotein of murine ecotropic leukemia virus is essential for virus entry into the host cell and has been recently demonstrated to function as a cationic amino acid transporter. In the experiments reported herein, we compared the gene expression of the murine ecotropic retroviral receptor (ERR) and its human homolog (H13) in rapidly proliferating cells versus resting cells using four different systems. (i) The expression of ERR gene is enhanced during activation of T and B lymphocytes by concanavalin A and lipopolysaccharide, respectively. Similar enhancement is observed by adding phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) or calcium ionophore (A23187). These phenomena appear to involve protein kinase C; two PMA analogs, 4-alpha-phorbol and 4-alpha-PMA, lacking the ability to activate protein kinase C fail to induce elevated levels of gene expression, and the protein kinase C inhibitor, H7 [1-(5-isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine dihydrochloride], inhibits the enhancement induced by PMA. (ii) Friend murine leukemia virus induces rapid splenomegaly and acute erythroleukemia in sensitive mice. Concomitantly with splenomegaly, ERR gene expression in spleen cells increases dramatically. (iii) The level of expression of the ERR or H13 gene in a variety of tumor cells is highly elevated compared with the level in noncancerous cells. (iv) H13 gene expression decreases upon terminal differentiation of the human promyelocytic leukemia cell line HL-60 into granulocytes or macrophages by dimethyl sulfoxide or PMA, respectively. These results suggest that ERR and H13 genes play an important role in cellular proliferation.