Vimentin Rather Than Keratin Expression in Some Hormone-independent Breast Cancer Cell Lines and in oncogene-transformed Mammary Epithelial Cells

Connie L. Sommers, Dorothy Walker-Jones, Susan E. Heckfnrd, Eva Valverius, Silvia Abularach, Edward P. Gelmann, Peter Worland, Robin Clark, Frank McCormick, Martha Stamnfer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

166 Scopus citations

Abstract

To characterize differences in gene expression between hormone-dependent and hormone-independent mammary carcinoma, we cloned complementary DNAs of genes expressed in a hormone-independent breast carcinoma cell line that were not expressed in a hormone-depend-ent line. One clone, which was isolated in many copies, coded for the intermediate filament protein vimentin. A complementary DNA clone 1.8 kilobases long included the entire protein-coding region for vimentin. Vimentin was expressed by more than one-haff of the hormone-independ-ent breast carcinoma cell lines tested but not by the hormone-dependent cell lines. The cell lines which expressed vimentin expressed only low levels of cytokeratins. The correlation between vimentin expression and more advanced stages of mammary cell transformation was tested in a model system in which immortal, nontumorigenic human mammary epithelial cells or derivative lines transformed with v-ws-H or SV40 T-antigen were found not to express vimentin, whereas a derivative highly tumorigenic cell line transformed by both v-nw-H and T-antigen did express vimentin. Analysis of several other kinds of epithelial carcinoma cell lines showed only rare examples of vimentin expression.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4258-4263
Number of pages6
JournalCancer Research
Volume49
Issue number15
StatePublished - Aug 1 1989
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

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