Mutation of proto-oncogenes in rat free-cell type tumor (CTS) cells

Abstract

We studied the rearrangement and amplification of the myc (c-myc, N-myc, L-myc) and ras (H-ras, K-ras) gene families, and the c-erbB2 gene in rat free-cell type tumor (CTS) cells derived from Tawa sarcoma. Southern-blotting analysis showed that CTS cells presented a different pattern from normal rat fibroblast cells in c-myc and c-erbB2 probe hybridization, indicating that the molecular weights of c-myc and c-erbB2 fragments in CTS cells differed from those in normal cells. This implies that the c-myc and c-erbB2 in CTS cells had been rearranged. Slot-blotting analysis showed that the myc and ras gene families, and the c-erbB2 gene in CTS cells had the same intensity as those in the control, indicating an absence of amplification of these genes in CTS cells. These observations may contribute to our understanding of the characteristics of gene expression in CTS cells.