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Nuclear transfer experiments in mammals have shown that the nucleus of an adult cell has the ability to direct the development of an entire organism, id est its genome is totipotent. However, these experiments did not conclusively demonstrate that the nuclei of terminally differentiated adult cells remain totipotent. It is possible that rare adult stem cells served as donors for the few surviving clones. To address this question, we have generated monoclonal mice from terminally differentiated lymphocytes that carry a single antigen receptor rearrangement in all tissues. Nuclear transfer technology may provide a powerful method for obtaining autologous cells for replacement therapy. We have demonstrated the feasibility of this concept by combining nuclear transfer with gene and cell therapy to treat the immune deficiency of Rag2 mutant mice, thus establishing a paradigm for 'therapeutic cloning'. Moreover, we will discuss the potential use of nuclear transfer to study the role of reversible genomic (epigenetic) modifications during tumorigenesis.

In wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans, the gonad is a complex epithelial tube that consists of long arms composed predominantly of germline tissue as well as somatic structures specialized for particular reproductive functions. In gon-1 mutants, the adult gonad is severely disorganized with essentially no arm extension and no recognizable somatic structure. The developmental defects in gon-1 mutants are limited to the gonad; other cells, tissues, and organs appear to develop normally. Previous work defined the regulatory "leader" cells as crucial for extension of the gonadal arms (J. E. Kimble and J. G. White, 1981, Dev. Biol. 81, 208-219). In gon-1 mutants, the leader cells are specified correctly, but they fail to migrate and gonadal arms are not generated. In addition, gon-1 is required for morphogenesis of the gonadal somatic structures. This second role appears to be independent of that required for leader migration. Parallel studies have shown that gon-1 encodes a secreted metalloprotease (R. Blelloch and J. Kimble, 1999, Nature 399, 586-590). We discuss how a metalloprotease may control two aspects of gonadal morphogenesis., (Copyright 1999 Academic Press.)

The molecular controls governing organ shape are poorly understood. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the gonad acquires a U-shape by the directed migration of a specialized 'leader' cell, which is located at the tip of the growing gonadal 'arm'. The gon-1 gene is essential for gonadal morphogenesis: in gon-1 mutants, no arm elongation occurs and somatic gonadal structures are severely malformed. Here we report that gon-1 encodes a secreted protein with a metalloprotease domain and multiple thrombospondin type-1-like repeats. This motif architecture is typical of a small family of genes that include bovine procollagen I N-protease (P1NP), which cleaves collagen, and murine ADAMTS-1, the expression of which correlates with tumour cell progression. We find that gon-1 is expressed in two sites, leader cells and muscle, and that expression in each site has a unique role in forming the gonad. We speculate that GON-1 controls morphogenesis by remodelling basement membranes and that regulation of its activity is crucial for achieving organ shape.

An understanding of the biological significance of the multiple genetic alterations identified in clinical bladder cancers to the stepwise pathogenesis of the disease is evolving. Alterations in p53 and pRb, products of the chromosomes 17p13 TP53 and 13q14 RB tumor suppressor genes, occur in approximately 50% and approximately 33% of bladder cancers respectively, and are associated with later stage, higher grade disease. p53 and pRb alterations are also known to occur in early stage bladder carcinoma in situ where they are thought to represent a poor prognosis for tumor progression. Allelic loss of genes on 9p21 occurs in approximately 50% of bladder cancers, but whether the only critical gene in this region is the CDKN2/p16 cyclin/CDK inhibitor is at present uncertain. Amplification and/or overexpression of the oncogenes epidermal growth factor receptor and erbB2 are associated with later stage disease. Finally, recent findings generated using in vitro transformation systems with human uroepithelial cells provide strong evidence that loss of genes on 3p, which occurs in approximately 20% of bladder cancers, and/or gain of genes on 20q play an important role in blocking HUC cellular senescence. This latter phenotype should represent a critical step in oncogenesis, as cells that do not senesce can survive to accumulate the multiple genetic alterations associated with invasive and metastatic bladder cancers. Further understanding of the biochemical mechanisms underlying these genetic changes will provide the additional information needed to design better strategies for bladder cancer intervention and treatment.