Molecular mechanisms of transformation by the v-rel oncogene.

Our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms that underlie the diverse cellular phenotypes collectively called cancer has increased dramatically over the past 20 years. A significant contribution to our current understanding of cancer has come from research into the behavior of a unique group of viruses, the acutely transforming retroviruses. The acutely transforming retroviruses contain one, or occasionally two, genes that are responsible for the transforming properties of the viruses. These genes, called retroviral oncogenes, have been transduced from genes present in the normal cellular genome, called proto-oncogenes. The proto-oncogenes encode diverse proteins that are important for the regulation of normal cell growth and differentiation. One such proto-oncogene, the c-rel proto-oncogene, has recently been shown to encode a member of the Nuclear Factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) transcription factor family. The structural and functional relationship between NF-kappa B and the c-rel protein provides a basis for understanding the molecular mechanism of neoplastic transformation by the v-rel protein.