Zenke M, Kahn P, Disela C, Vennström B, Leutz A, Keegan K, Hayman M J, Choi H R, Yew N, Engel J D
European Molecular Biology Laboratory Differentiation Program, Heidelberg, Federal Republic of Germany.
Cell. 1988 Jan 15;52(1):107-19. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90535-1.
Previous work has established that the v-erbA oncogene inhibits the temperature-induced differentiation of chick erythroblasts transformed with temperature-sensitive oncogene mutants. Here we demonstrate that v-erbA in differentiating erythroblasts specifically arrests expression of the erythrocyte anion transporter (band 3) gene at the transcriptional level. The v-erbA-induced differentiation block can be overcome by inducing cells to differentiate at alkaline pH. Under these conditions, which possibly impair biological activity of v-erbA, the maturing cells now express the anion transporter gene at high levels. However, its transcription is specifically and rapidly suppressed if v-erbA activity is restored by culturing the cells at neutral pH. Similar but less pronounced inhibition of gene expression by v-erbA was observed for the delta-amino-levulinic acid synthase gene. Additional evidence obtained with an inhibitor of band 3 activity suggests that the v-erbA-induced inhibition of band 3 gene expression is at least partly responsible for the differentiation block caused by this oncogene.
