Differences in oncogenic potency but not target cell specificity distinguish the two forms of the BCR/ABL oncogene.

Two forms of activated BCR/ABL proteins, P210 and P185, that differ in BCR-derived sequences, are associated with Philadelphia chromosome-positive leukemias. One of these diseases is chronic myelogenous leukemia, an indolent disease arising in hematopoietic stem cells that is almost always associated with the P210 form of BCR/ABL. Acute lymphocytic leukemia, a more aggressive malignancy, can be associated with both forms of BCR/ABL. While it is virtually certain that BCR/ABL plays a central role in both of these diseases, the features that determine the association of a particular form with a given disease have not been elucidated. We have used the bone marrow reconstitution leukemogenesis model to test the hypothesis that BCR sequences influence the ability of activated ABL to transform different types of hematopoietic cells. Our studies reveal that both P185 and P210 induce a similar spectrum of hematological diseases, including granulocytic, myelomonocytic, and lymphocytic leukemias. Despite the similarity of the disease patterns, animals given P185-infected marrow developed a more aggressive disease after a shorter latent period than those given P210-infected marrow. These data demonstrate that the structure of the BCR/ABL oncoprotein does not affect the type of disease induced by each form of the oncogene but does control the potency of the oncogenic signal.