Stepwise Genetic Changes Associated with Progression of Nontumorigenic HPV-18 Immortalized Human Prostate Cancer-Derived Cell Line to a Malignant Phenotype

Cytogenetics, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) were used to identify genes that are involved in the development and progression of prostate cancer. For that purpose, we chose a cell line established in vitro from a prostatic adenocarcinoma which was nontumorigenic in nude mice and followed its progression to a tumorigenic cell line. Stepwise changes were observed in the cell line as it became tumorigenic. The composite karyotype at the nontumorigenic stage (CA-HPV-10) was 68∼77,XXY,−(1, 9, 13, 14, 19, 22),+(4, 5, 11, 18, 20, 21),+(del(1) (q23q31)=M1 (two copies),+der(9)t(1;9)(q24∼q31;p23)=M5(two copies),der(14)t(14;?)(q10;?)=M17 in the majority of metaphases. These two derivative chromosomes were also observed a previous study. Our CGH analysis clearly showed that this deleted region in M1 is, in fact, translocated with derivative M5 and, in reality, is amplified. The cell line established from nodule (SCID 5019 p11), showed a number of new changes, as described; however, the most significant change was amplification of the 8q23∼ qter region, harboring c-myc . This region was translocated with chromosomes 2, 4, and 16 as der(2)t(2;8)(q33;q23)=M12, der(4)t(4;8)(q34;q23)=M11, and der(16)t(8;16)(q24;q21)=M9. We deduce from our study that amplification of c-myc and other genes in the 8q23∼qter region were important in progression but did not lead to tumorigenicity. The population that became tumorigenic (SCID 5019 II) showed almost all of the same changes in the karyotype as observed in the nodular cell line; the only significant change was the appearance of der(11)t(4;11)(q32;q22)=M7 and the addition of another copy of t(3q;7p)=M2. These new changes lead to loss of chromosomes 3p, 4pter ∼q34, 6, 7q21∼qter, 11q22∼qter, and 18q, and gain of 3q, 7p, 8q23∼qter, and 11pter ∼q22, before the cell line became tumorigenic. The clonal selection of the population is proven by the presence of a number of the same derivative chromosomes in both the nodular and tumorigenic cell line. As it progressed to tumorigenicity, some of the same changes observed in the original study re-appear at different stages of malignancy, although it was absent in the nontumorigenic cell line. These are: der(16)t(8;16)(q24;q21)=M9 in the nodular cell line and der(11)t(4;11)(q32;q22)=M7 in the tumorigenic cell line. In our system, amplification of c-myc and other genes in der(2)t(2;8)(q33;q23)=M12,der(4) t(4;8)(q34;q23)=M11 together with the presence of der(16)t(8;16)(q24;q21)=M9 and der(11)t(4;11)(q32;q22)=M5 makes the cell line tumorigenic. It is either nontumorigenic, with the presence of a marker equivalent to der(16)=M9 and der(11)=M7 observed in the original study, and only nodular (SCID 5019 p11, present study), with the presence of number of markers with c-myc amplification (M9, M11, and M12). There is accumulation of all the above-mentioned changes in the same cell before it becomes tumorigenic.