Platelet-derived growth factor receptor can mediate tumorigenic transformation by the bovine papillomavirus E5 protein.

We showed previously that the beta receptor for platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is constitutively activated in fibroblasts transformed by the 44-amino-acid bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV) E5 protein and that the E5 protein and the PDGF receptor exist in a stable complex in E5-transformed fibroblasts. On the basis of these results, we proposed that activation of the PDGF receptor by the BPV E5 protein generates a sustained proliferative signal, resulting in fibroblast transformation. In this study, we used a gene transfer approach to provide functional evidence that the PDGF receptor can mediate transformation by the E5 protein. We show that normal mouse mammary gland (NMuMG) cells, a murine mammary epithelial cell line that does not express PDGF receptors, are not susceptible to transformation by the E5 protein. Coexpression of the PDGF beta receptor and E5 genes in these cells results in markedly increased tyrosine phosphorylation of an immature PDGF receptor species and the formation of a stable complex between the E5 protein and this immature PDGF receptor form. Importantly, introduction of the PDGF receptor gene into NMuMG cells renders them highly susceptible to E5-mediated tumorigenic transformation. In contrast, the E5 protein does not induce transformation via the endogenous epidermal growth factor receptor pathway in these cells. These results demonstrate that the PDGF receptor, a cellular protein with a well-characterized role in the positive control of cell proliferation, can mediate transformation by a DNA virus transforming protein.