Oncogenic activation of the human trk proto‐oncogene by recombination with the ribosomal large subunit protein L7a

The trk‐2h oncogene, isolated from the human breast carcinoma cell line MDA‐MB 231 by genomic DNA‐transfection into NIH3T3 cells, consists of the trk proto‐oncogene receptor kinase domain fused to a N‐terminal 41 amino acid activating sequence (Kozma, S.C., Redmond, S.M.S., Xiao‐Chang, F., Saurer, S.M., Groner, B. and Hynes, N.E. (1988) EMBO J., 7, 147‐154). Antibodies raised against a bacterially produced beta gal‐trk receptor kinase fusion protein recognized a 44 kd phosphoprotein phosphorylated on serine, threonine and tyrosine in extracts of trk‐2h transformed NIH3T3 cells. In vitro, in the presence of Mn2+/gamma ATP, this protein became phosphorylated extensively on tyrosine. Cells transformed by trk‐2h did not, however, show an elevation in total phosphotyrosine. We have cloned and sequenced the cDNA encoding the amino terminal activating sequences of trk‐2h (Kozma et al., 1988). The encoded protein has a high basic amino acid content and the gene is expressed as an abundant 1.2 kb mRNA in human, rat and mouse cells. Antipeptide antibodies raised against a C‐terminal peptide recognized specifically a 30 kd protein on Western blots of human, rat and mouse cell extracts. Immunofluorescence revealed, in addition to granular cytoplasmic fluorescence, intense nucleolar staining. The high basic amino acid content and nucleolar staining prompted us to investigate whether the 30 kd protein could be a ribosomal protein. Western immunoblotting analysis of 2D‐electrophoretically resolved ribosomal proteins indicated that the 30 kd protein is the ribosomal large subunit protein L7a.