Cyclin D1 as a cellular proto-oncogene.

Deregulated expression of cyclin D1 occurs in several types of human cancer. Since it often results from a specific chromosomal abnormality, this over-expression is likely to be significant in the development of the disease. Cyclin D1 is also implicated in virally induced tumors in mice and transgenic models based on ectopic expression if cyclin D1 recapitulate features of the naturally occurring tumors. By these criteria, as well as its effects in transfected rodent cells, cyclin D1 has the hallmarks of a cellular proto-oncogene. Although the normal role of cyclin D1 is not well understood, its oncogenic properties appear to involve functional interactions with cyclin-dependent kinases, the retinoblastoma gene product and the MTS1/p16 tumor suppressor gene.