Sequence, topography and protein coding potential of mouse int-2: a putative oncogene activated by mouse mammary tumour virus.

A major proportion of carcinomas induced by mouse mammary tumour virus (MMTV) show evidence for proviral activation of a cellular gene, int-2, on chromosome 7. The sequence of 7869 bp of DNA spanning the transcription unit of int-2 was determined and compared with that of a series of int-2-specific cDNA clones derived from mammary tumour RNA. The predicted positions of intron-exon boundaries, established by alignment of cDNA and chromosomal DNA sequences, indicate that the gene comprises at least three exons. An open reading frame capable of encoding a protein of 245 amino acids with an estimated mol. wt of 27 kd, is flanked by substantial non-coding segments at both 5' and 3' ends. Comparison of the chromosomal DNA sequence and the predicted amino acid sequence with available data-bases has revealed no homology to other known genes. These results are discussed in relation to the status of int-2 as a candidate proto-oncogene.