Integration and loss of a single v-Ki-ras gene affects tumorigenic potential of human osteosarcoma cells.

The human osteosarcoma cell line Te85 clone F-5 is not tumorigenic in vivo. Its transformation with Kirsten murine sarcoma virus (KiMSV) (KHOS) confers full malignant properties and stable non-tumorigenic revertants of this KHOS cell line have been obtained. Here we show that integration and expression of a single copy of the KiMSV proviral DNA, which is totally lost in the HOS 240S revertant, is responsible for the acquisition of tumorigenicity. Cytogenetic analysis and the absence of a residual LTR copy in the revertant cellular genome suggest that the loss of KiMSV provirus is caused either by chromosomal segregation or by recombination not involving the LTR. In addition analysis of the expression of ras proteins revealed no changes in the pattern of c-ras products and the expression of v-ras only in the KHOS cells. All these data suggest that Te85 and HOS 240S cell lines could represent a human alternative recipient system to rodent cells in studies with oncogenes.