Expression of a viral oncoprotein during mammary gland development alters cell fate and function: induction of p53-independent apoptosis is followed by impaired milk protein production in surviving cells.

The disruption of cell cycle regulation is associated with developmental abnormalities and tumorigenesis. The SV40 large T antigen (Tag) interferes with cell cycle control by interacting with the pRb family and p53. Mice carrying a transgene composed of the whey acidic protein (WAP) gene promoter and the Tag coding sequence express Tag during pregnancy and are unable to nurse their young. Tag expression induced apoptosis in mammary epithelial cells during late pregnancy. At least 5% of mammary epithelial cells were undergoing apoptosis at any one time. In contrast, less than 0.2% of mammary epithelial cells in nontransgenic littermates was undergoing apoptosis. Apoptosis in Tag mice was associated with increased steady-state RNA levels of bax and bcl-xL + S, with a relative increase in bcl-xs expression. Since p53 was sequestered by Tag, it is likely that p53-independent mechanisms precipitated apoptosis. The Tag-expressing mammary alveolar cells that did not undergo apoptosis continued to differentiate through late pregnancy, as measured by the sequential activation of milk protein gene expression. However, milk protein production, processing, and secretion was impaired, resulting in lactation failure.