Cooperation of v-jun and v-erbB oncogenes in embryo fibroblast transformation in vitro and in vivo.

Retroviral vectors carrying either the v-jun and v-erbB sequences or the v-jun gene linked to the neomycin resistance gene were constructed on the basis of the structural genome organization of avian erythroblastosis virus (AEV). These viruses, called JB and JN, respectively, were rescued as Rous-associated virus-1 pseudotypes, and they were shown to successfully transform chicken embryo fibroblasts in vitro. However, in agar, colonies developed from JB-infected fibroblasts were three to five times larger than those obtained after infection with JN or with AEV Pst124 carrying only a functional v-erbB gene. In vivo, on chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assays, JB produced fibrosarcomas that were more rapidly growing and much larger than those induced by JN or AEV Pst124. Moreover, in chickens infected in ovo with JB, multiple fibrosarcomas arose in different organs a few days after birth, whereas no tumor could be detected in parallel experiments in either JN- or AEV Pst124-infected animals. These results demonstrate that in embryo fibroblast cells, v-jun and v-erbB can act synergistically to enhance the transformation potential of either oncogene alone both in vitro and in vivo.