title: Analysis of pp60c-src protein kinase activity in human tumor cell lines and tissues.
abstract: We have evaluated the level of pp60c-src protein kinase activity in a variety of human tumor tissues and human tumor cell lines, and have estimated the abundance of the c-src protein in several of these tissues and cell lines. All cell lines derived from tumors of neuroectodermal origin that express a neural phenotype were found to possess c-src molecules with high levels of tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity. In contrast, cell lines derived from tumors of neuroectodermal origin that do not express neural characteristics, such as glioblastomas and melanomas, were found to have pp60c-src molecules with low levels of protein kinase activity. A similar pattern was observed when we analyzed the activity of c-src molecules extracted directly from corresponding tumor tissues. Analysis of human tumor cell lines derived from tissues other than those of neuroectodermal origin revealed that pp60c-src protein kinase activity was low in most cases. Exceptions to this observation were all rhabdomyosarcoma, osteogenic sarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, and colon carcinoma lines tested. Comparison of pp60c-src kinase activity in normal skeletal muscle and rhabdomyosarcoma tissue and in normal breast tissue and breast adenocarcinoma tissue revealed that pp60c-src kinase activity was specifically elevated in the tumor tissues in both cases. However, the amount of pp60c-src protein in both normal and tumor tissues was found to be similar. These observations suggest that increases in the specific activity of the pp60c-src phosphotransferase in some rhabdomyosarcomas and breast carcinomas may be a characteristic acquired during the malignant transformation of the cells that is retained in cell lines established from these tumors.
mesh_terms: D002460:Cell Line; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology*; D015688:Oncogene Protein pp60(v-src); D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D012191:Retroviridae Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012191:Retroviridae Proteins; D011494:Protein Kinases; D015688:Oncogene Protein pp60(v-src)