Endogenous bcl-2 is not required for the development of Eμ-myc-induced B-cell lymphoma

Abstract

Although myc and bcl-2 synergize in tumor development, particularly lymphomagenesis, it is not known whether endogenous bcl-2 is required for myc-induced tumorigenesis. To investigate the role of endogenous Bcl-2 in myc-induced lymphomagenesis, we bypassed the early death of Bcl-2-deficient mice by reconstituting lethally irradiated wild-type (wt) mice with a hematopoietic system from fetal liver-derived stem cells of Emu-myc/bcl-2(-/-) or control Emu-myc transgenic embryos. In premalignant (healthy) recipients, loss of Bcl-2 caused a moderate decrease in pre-B and immature B cells, and a dramatic reduction of mature B lymphocytes expressing the Emu-myc transgene. Furthermore, cultured prene..