Myc-induced T cell leukemia in transgenic zebrafish

DM Langenau, D Traver, AA Ferrando, JL Kutok… - Science, 2003 - science.org
DM Langenau, D Traver, AA Ferrando, JL Kutok, JC Aster, JP Kanki, S Lin, E Prochownik
Science, 2003science.org
The zebrafish is an attractive model organism for studying cancer development because of
its genetic accessibility. Here we describe the induction of clonally derived T cell acute
lymphoblastic leukemia in transgenic zebrafish expressing mouse c-myc under control of the
zebrafish Rag2 promoter. Visualization of leukemic cells expressing a chimeric transgene
encoding Myc fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP) revealed that leukemias arose in the
thymus, spread locally into gill arches and retro-orbital soft tissue, and then disseminated …
The zebrafish is an attractive model organism for studying cancer development because of its genetic accessibility. Here we describe the induction of clonally derived T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in transgenic zebrafish expressing mouse c-myc under control of the zebrafish Rag2promoter. Visualization of leukemic cells expressing a chimeric transgene encoding Myc fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP) revealed that leukemias arose in the thymus, spread locally into gill arches and retro-orbital soft tissue, and then disseminated into skeletal muscle and abdominal organs. Leukemic cells homed back to the thymus in irradiated fish transplanted with GFP-labeled leukemic lymphoblasts. This transgenic model provides a platform for drug screens and for genetic screens aimed at identifying mutations that suppress or enhance c-myc– induced carcinogenesis.
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