Concomitant induction of signal transduction pathways and genetic instability by the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate.

The hypothesis that activation of the signal transduction pathways by environmental stress may lead to genetic instability was tested. Mouse T-lymphoma cells, GRSL13, were treated with the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). The induction of transcription of c-fos, fosB, c-jun, junB and collagenase was studied as well as the mutation rate in the progeny of treated cells. It was found that mRNA levels of fosB, junB and collagenase, all known to be involved in the growth factor signal transduction pathway, were enhanced. No transcription of c-fos and c-jun was observed in control and TPA-treated cells. These results suggest that transcription of c-fos is not a prerequisite for the induction of transcription of collagenase. The degree of induction of the signal transduction pathway was dependent on culture conditions of the treated cells, growing cells having less response than stationary cells. The mutation rate was significantly enhanced in the progeny of TPA-treated cells from 4.2 X 10(-7) to 9.8 X 10(-7)/cell/generation. Fluctuation analysis showed that TPA leads to a temporary enhancement of the mutation rate up to the eighth generation after treatment. The enhancement of the mutation rate is less apparent in growing cells than in stationary cells (1.8- and 2.9-fold respectively) which, because the signal transduction pathways are less induced in growing cells than in stationary cells, is in agreement with the hypothesis that induction of the signal transduction pathway leads to genetic instability.