Madreperla S A, Whittum-Hudson J A, Prendergast R A, Chen P L, Lee W H
Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205.
Cancer Res. 1991 Dec 1;51(23 Pt 1):6381-4.
Human retinoblastoma is caused by mutational inactivation of the retinoblastoma suppressor gene (RB). We have examined intraocular tumorigenicity of retinoblastoma cells in which RB expression was achieved by retroviral transduction. Retinoblastoma cells were injected into the anterior chambers of severe combined immunodeficient mouse eyes, and tumorigenicity was assessed. RB-expressing retinoblastoma cells usually failed to form progressive tumors in the anterior chamber, whereas the parental, RB-negative line, WERI-Rb27, was rapidly tumorigenic. These results support the hypothesis that inactivation of the RB gene is critical for the growth of retinoblastoma tumors. The potential use of RB reconstitution for treating human retinoblastoma is suggested by our finding that intraocular tumor growth can be suppressed by RB expression.
人类视网膜母细胞瘤是由视网膜母细胞瘤抑制基因（RB）的突变失活引起的。我们检测了通过逆转录病毒转导实现RB表达的视网膜母细胞瘤细胞的眼内致瘤性。将视网膜母细胞瘤细胞注入严重联合免疫缺陷小鼠眼的前房，并评估其致瘤性。表达RB的视网膜母细胞瘤细胞通常在前房内无法形成进行性肿瘤，而亲本的RB阴性细胞系WERI-Rb27则具有快速致瘤性。这些结果支持了RB基因失活对视网膜母细胞瘤肿瘤生长至关重要的假说。我们发现RB表达可抑制眼内肿瘤生长，这提示了RB基因重建在治疗人类视网膜母细胞瘤方面的潜在应用。
