Expression of cellular myc and mos genes in undifferentiated B cell lymphomas of Burkitt and non-Burkitt types.
Burkitt lymphomas contain reciprocal translocations between chromosome 8 and one of the chromosomes containing the immunoglobulin gene loci, prompting speculation that consequent activation of a crucial gene(s) on chromosome 8 might be involved in the generation of these tumors. Recently the human counterparts of the retroviral oncogenes v-myc and v-mos have been mapped to chromosome 8. We have, therefore, analyzed the level of transcription of the cellular myc and mos genes in a variety of undifferentiated B cell lymphomas of Burkitt and non-Burkitt type that possess either an 8;14 or an 8;22 translocation. These lines expressed 2- to 5-fold more myc-specific RNA than do B cell lines without a translocation. Tumor cell lines of American origin with an 8;14 or 8;22 translocation expressed similar amounts of myc-specific RNA. Tumor cell lines of African origin contained slightly higher levels of myc-specific RNA than did those of American origin. However, level of expression does not appear to correlate with the presence or absence of Epstein-Barr virus. Therefore, a major increase in the transcription of this gene secondary to translocation is unlikely to be the cause of Burkitt lymphoma. There was no evidence of mos-related transcripts in any of the cell lines tested.
D002051:Burkitt Lymphoma / Q000235:genetics*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002460:Cell Line; D002901:Chromosomes, Human, 13-15; D002906:Chromosomes, Human, 6-12 and X; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007244:Infectious Mononucleosis / Q000235:genetics; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000235:genetics*; D009857:Oncogenes; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014178:Translocation, Genetic