Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Receptor Can Mediate Tumorigenic Transformation by the Bovine Papillomavirus E5 Protein

Abstract

We showed previously that the β receptor for platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is constitutively activated in fibroblasts transformed by the 44-amino-acid bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV) E5 protein and that the E5 protein and the PDGF receptor exist in a stable complex in E5-transformed fibroblasts. On the basis of these results, we proposed that activation of the PDGF receptor by the BPV E5 protein generates a sustained proliferative signal, resulting in fibroblast transformation. In this study, we used a gene transfer approach to provide functional evidence that the PDGF receptor can mediate transformation by the E5 protein. We show that normal mouse mammary gland (NMuMG) cells, a murine mammary epithelial cell line that does not express PDGF receptors, are not susceptible to transformation by the E5 protein. Coexpression of the PDGF β receptor and E5 genes in these cells results in markedly increased tyrosine phosphorylation of an immature PDGF receptor species and the formation of a stable complex between the E5 protein and this immature PDGF receptor form. Importantly, introduction of the PDGF receptor gene into NMuMG cells renders them highly susceptible to E5-mediated tumorigenic transformation. In contrast, the E5 protein does not induce transformation via the endogenous epidermal growth factor receptor pathway in these cells. These results demonstrate that the PDGF receptor, a cellular protein with a well-characterized role in the positive control of cell proliferation, can mediate transformation by a DNA virus transforming protein.