Primary rat embryo fibroblasts were transformed by a p53 mutant (alanine to valine change at amino acid 135) plus ras. This p53^^'*^^ mutant is temperature sensitive for a conformational change detected by the binding of a monoclonal antibody, PAb246, which recognizes the wild-type protein or the great majority of p53 vail 35 at 32.5°C. At 37°C, both mutant and wild-type p53 conformational forms co-exist in the cells, while at 39.5°C, the majority of the p53^"'^^^ in the cell is in a mutant conformation not recognized by PAb246 antibody. At 39.5°C, the mutant p53 is localized in the cytoplasm of the cell. At 32.5°C, the p53 protein enters the nucleus and stops the growth of these cells. At 37°C where there is a mixture of mutant and wild-type p53, the wild-type p53 protein is in a complex with hsc70 and mutant p53 protein in the cytoplasm of the cell during Gj. This wild-type protein enters the nucleus as the cells enter the S-phase of the cell cycle. At 32.5°C, the cells stop replication and arrest at the G^/S border. After 48 hr at 32.5°C, 91% of the cells are in the Gj fraction of the cell cycle. The S-phase cells appear to be immune to the p53 negative regulation of growth until they enter the next G^ period. These data strongly suggest that mutant p53 proteins in transformed cells act to sequester the wild-type p53 protein in an hsc70-p53 complex, which resides in the cytoplasm during the stage of the cell cycle, G^, when nuclear wild-type p53 would normally act to regulate cell growth and progression through the cycle. In this way, mutant p53 proteins can act in a trans-dominant fashion to overcome growth regulation by the wild-type p53 allele and protein in a cell.

The CDKN2A gene located on chromosome region 9p21 encodes the cyclin-dependent kinase-4 inhibitor p16/INK4A, a negative cell cycle regulator. We analyzed p16/INK4A expression in different types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma to determine whether the absence of this protein is involved in lymphomagenesis, while also trying to characterize the genetic events underlying this p16/INK4A loss. To this end, we investigated the levels of p16/INK4A protein using immunohistochemical techniques in 153 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, using as reference the levels found in reactive lymphoid tissue. The existence of gene mutation, CpG island methylation, and allelic loss were investigated in a subset of 26 cases, using single-strand conformational polymorphism and direct sequencing, Southern Blot, polymerase chain reaction, and microsatellite analysis, respectively. Loss of p16/INK4A expression was detected in 41 of the 112 non-Hodgkin's lymphomas studied (37%), all of which corresponded to high-grade tumors. This loss of p16/INK4A was found more frequently in cases showing tumor progression from mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue low-grade lymphomas (31 of 37) or follicular lymphomas (4 of 4) into diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. Analysis of the status of the p16/INK4A gene showed different genetic alterations (methylation of the 5'-CpG island of the p16/INK4A gene, 6 of 23 cases; allelic loss at 9p21, 3 of 16 cases; and nonsense mutation, 1 of 26 cases). In all cases, these events were associated with loss of the p16/INK4A protein. No case that preserved protein expression contained any genetic change. Our results demonstrate that p16/INK4A loss of expression contributes to tumor progression in lymphomas. The most frequent genetic alterations found were 5'-CpG island methylation and allelic loss.

p53 is a tumour suppressor gene which is often found to be inactivated in most types of human cancer. p53 is a transcription factor, the inactivation of which may lead to significant variations in the levels of p53 downstream proteins, such as p21WAF1/CIP1 and MDM2. In view of the significance of p21WAF1/CIP1 and MDM2 as wild‐type (wt) p53 targets, this study was undertaken to monitor the varying expression of these proteins in non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs) in relation to p53 gene status. A total of 57 cases of different histological types of NHL were included in this study. Proteins p53, p21and MDM2 were analysed by immunohistochemical techniques, taking the levels expressed in reactive lymphoid tissues as reference points. p53 gene point mutations (exons 5–8) were looked for using the PCR–SSCP technique and direct sequencing. Fifteen of the 57 cases studied showed 16 mutations at the p53 gene: 12 missense, one nonsense, two silent mutations, and one frameshift deletion. Most missense mutations were associated with high levels of p53 protein, while the nonsense mutations and frameshift deletion did not induce detectable levels of p53. All cases with mutation at the p53 gene (15) showed null or low levels of p21WAF1/CIP1 and MDM2 proteins, suggesting that null or missense mutations at this gene give rise to a protein that is unable to transactivate the p21WAF1/CIP1 and MDM2 genes. The association between missense p53 mutation and dissociate immunophenotype (p53+, MDM2−, p21−) was statistically significant (Fisher's exact test, P=0·0024). This anomalous p53+, MDM2−, p21− phenotype was also found in a small group of five cases with wt p53; this could indicate that in these cases p53 transactivation capacity has been abrogated by a mechanism other than p53 mutation. Most cases with the wt p53 gene show simultaneous immunohistochemical expression of all three proteins and often display higher levels than those found in reactive lymphoid tissue. There is a tendency for EBV‐positive cases to harbour high levels of p53+ and p21+, suggesting that EBV could be involved in the nuclear accumulation of p53 and p21WAF1/CIP1 in NHL. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The retinoblastoma susceptibility gene (Rb) has been characterized as a tumour suppressor gene. Rb protein is involved in cell-cycle control, regulating gene transcription. The absence of Rb protein in inherited retinoblastoma has been proved to be the result of inactivation of both Rb alleles through mutation or deletion, according to the general model for suppressor genes. The frequent detection of Rb gene alterations in human tumours (retinoblastoma, osteosarcoma, bladder carcinoma, small-cell lung carcinoma) and the correlation with clinical outcome found in some tumours prompted us to study Rb gene expression in lymphoid tumours in an attempt to determine whether Rb gene expression is related to histological type and degree of aggressivity in human lymphomas. To establish normal levels of Rb protein, its expression was analysed in vitro on cytospin preparations from normal and pokeweed mitogen (PWM) or phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs), using a monoclonal antibody (PMG3-245). Rb protein expression in vivo was quantified using a computer analysis system (CAS) on frozen sections from reactive and neoplastic lymphoid tissue. As a control of tissue preservation, and to compare Rb expression and growth fraction, the tumours and cells were labelled simultaneously with the Ki67 monoclonal antibody. Normal and stimulated lymphocytes showed a gradual increase of Rb protein during progression of the cell cycle, with a peak in the M phase. G0-G1 cells had no detectable levels of Rb protein, suggesting that the Rb gene may act as a 'status quo' cellular growth fraction control mechanism. In reactive lymphoid tissue, Rb protein was mainly expressed in germinal centres (lymph nodes, tonsils) and cortical thymocytes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

P53 is a tumour suppressor gene, located in the short arm of chromosome 17, which encodes for a nuclear protein involved in the control of cellular growth, regulating the entry of the cell into the S-phase. P53 mutations have been identified in a progressively increasing number of human malignancies. Nuclear p53 protein is usually present in non-tumour cells in minute concentrations, due to its short half-life. In contrast, tumours with p53 mRNA mutations show a higher nuclear protein concentration, detectable by immunohistological techniques, due to stabilization by complexing with other proteins such as heat-shock protein or wild-type p53 protein. Levels of nuclear p53 protein detected by immunohistochemistry with the monoclonal antibody PAb 1801 were measured with the aid of an image analysis system in 83 non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs) and 13 cases of Hodgkin's disease, as well as in 14 cases of normal thymus, reactive tonsils, and lymphadenitis. High levels of p53 protein (greater than 5 per cent of the cells) were present only in high-grade lymphomas (in the proportion 13/55), with a peak incidence in Burkitt's lymphoma (5/8 cases). Lower levels (less than 5 per cent) of p53 protein were detected in low-grade B- and T-cell lymphomas, as well as in most of the cases of Hodgkin's disease, where p53 protein was selectively present in Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells. In 5/14 reactive tonsils or lymph nodes, occasional p53-positive cells were identified. These results suggest a relationship between levels of p53 protein and the aggressiveness of NHL.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)