Chromosome-mediated transfer of the malignant phenotype by human acute
myelogenous leukemic cells
MD Minden, JF Gusella and D Housman
Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is a malignancy of the myeloid cells of
the bone marrow. Recently, a number of groups have demonstrated that it is
possible to study the malignant phenotype at the level of DNA through gene
transfer experiments. We have used such an approach to determine whether it
is possible to transfer the malignant phenotype of anchorage independence
from human AML cells to anchorage-dependent rodent cells, using chromosomes
as the source of genetic information. We found that chromosomes isolated
from leukemic cell lines were capable of transferring the malignant
phenotype of anchorage independence, whereas chromosomes derived from the
lymphocytes of normal individuals were not active in this assay. Using
Southern blot analysis of the DNA from transferants, we were able to show
that the transfer of anchorage independence correlated with the presence of
human DNA in the transferants. The pattern of human DNA in the transferants
derived from different transfection experiments is compared.
Volume 64,
Issue 4,
pp. 842-846,
10/01/1984
Copyright © 1984 by The American Society of Hematology