Transformation-sensitive and growth-related changes of protein synthesis in REF52 cells. A two-dimensional gel analysis of SV40-, adenovirus-, and Kirsten murine sarcoma virus-transformed rat cells using the REF52 protein database.

Two-dimensional gels of normal and virally transformed REF52 cells have been quantified and compared using the QUEST system for construction and analysis of protein databases. The REF52 protein map is based on more than 1600 high quality spots, and the relative amounts of these proteins are studied in 79 gels representing 12 major experiments. REF52 cells transformed by SV40, adenovirus, and Kirsten murine sarcoma virus (KiMSV) are compared to normal REF52 cells at several stages of growth from low density to confluence and after refeeding confluent cells. In addition, early (1-4 h) and late (21-24 h) responses to serum stimulation were measured in normal, SV40-and adenovirus-transformed cells. The database has been analyzed with respect to 1) known marker proteins and protein sets, 2) global comparison of protein patterns, and 3) selection of unknown spots which have interesting patterns of regulation. For the marker proteins, which include the tropomyosin family and the proliferation-sensitive nuclear antigen, new aspects of regulation by growth and transformation have been revealed. Proliferation-sensitive nuclear antigen, a protein known to be involved in DNA synthesis, is growth-regulated in normal cells and overexpressed in some SV40- and adenovirus-transformed cells. Global comparisons reveal no overall correlation between growth-regulated changes and transformation-induced changes; however, a set of 26 coregulated proteins, including proliferation-sensitive nuclear antigen, was found to be overexpressed in REF52 cells transformed by SV40 or adenovirus. These proteins are synthesized at rates that correlate with the rate of cell proliferation in REF52 and Kirsten murine sarcoma virus-transformed cells but, in SV40- and adenovirus-transformed cells, these proteins are synthesized at high levels independent of the rate of growth. These data suggest that the transforming proteins of SV40 and adenovirus share a function that results in deregulation of the genes coding for a class of cell cycle-regulated proteins.