title: DMSO induced modulation of c-myc steady-state RNA levels in a variety of different cell lines.
abstract: The nuclear proto-oncogene c-myc is believed to play a regulatory role in eukaryotic cellular growth and differentiation. Several studies have demonstrated rapid down-regulation of the steady-state levels of c-myc RNA during DMSO induced differentiation of the human 'promyelocytic' cell line, HL-60. However, little is known about the effect of DMSO on c-myc regulation in cells which are not induced to differentiate by DMSO. We have examined the effect of DMSO on c-myc RNA levels in a number of cell lines with different lesions in the c-myc gene, including those which do not differentiate in response to DMSO treatment. Here we demonstrate that DMSO induces a rapid, but transient, reduction in the steady-state level of c-myc RNA in human 'erythroid' K562 cells, Burkitt lymphoma lines Daudi and Raji, human T cell lymphoblastoid line CEM and mouse lymphoma line L1210. However, DMSO treatment does not produce a similar effect in the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line COLO 320 or HeLa epithelial cervical carcinoma cells. These observations demonstrate that the DMSO induced modulation of c-myc RNA levels is a more common phenomenon than previously recognised, and is not necessarily correlated with either the induction of cellular differentiation or growth arrest.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Darling
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tavassoli
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Linskens
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Farzaneh
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005784:Gene Amplification; D006801:Humans; D015473:Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute / Q000235:genetics; D009154:Mutation; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide