p53 mutations in mouse mammary epithelial cells: instability in culture and discordant selection of mutations in vitro versus in vivo.

The phenotypes of p53 mutations found in human and murine tumors often are analyzed using a variety of transformation assays in vitro, but data have not been available to correlate in vitro effects with in vivo activities. We have assessed the effects of p53 mutations using mouse mammary epithelial cell lines which can be analyzed both in vitro and in vivo. Parental mammary epithelial cell lines (FSK series) injected into cleared mammary fat pads of syngeneic mice frequently give rise to preneoplastic lesions (HAN) which can be reestablished in culture (TM lines) to permit analysis of genetic changes important in the development of preneoplasia. Characterization of the FSK3 cell line revealed a cell population mixed with respect to p53 genotypes. One subpopulation of mutant (Ser233-234) p53-expressing cells was selected in a preneoplastic mammary outgrowth in vivo (TM3), whereas another minor population of mutant (Pro135) p53-expressing cells was selected during culturing of FSK3 cells in vitro. When FSK3 cells were subdivided and passaged in parallel in vitro, p53 genotypes continued to evolve and diverge. These findings reveal that selective pressures exerted on mammary epithelial cell populations in vivo are different from pressures present in vitro. Selective forces may vary from one cell culture environment to another. The growth advantage conferred by a specific p53 mutation appears to differ in vivo versus in vitro. We propose that caution should be exercised when attempting to correlate the effects of p53 mutations assayed in cell culture systems with the in situ phenotypes of mutant p53 in cancer.