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. 1985 Aug;5(8):1969–1976. doi: 10.1128/mcb.5.8.1969

Deregulation of c-myc gene expression in human colon carcinoma is not accompanied by amplification or rearrangement of the gene.

M D Erisman, P G Rothberg, R E Diehl, C C Morse, J M Spandorfer, S M Astrin
PMCID: PMC366914  PMID: 3837853

Abstract

The structure and expression of the c-myc oncogene were examined in 29 primary human colon adenocarcinomas. Dot blot hybridization of total RNA showed that 21 tumors (72%) had considerably elevated expression of c-myc (5- to 40-fold) relative to normal colonic mucosa. These data were corroborated by Northern blots of polyadenylated RNA, which showed a 2.3-kilobase transcript. Southern analysis of the c-myc locus in these tumors indicated the absence of amplification or DNA rearrangement in a 35-kilobase region encompassing the gene. In a parallel study, elevated expression of c-myc without amplification or DNA rearrangement was also observed in three of six colon carcinoma cell lines examined; in addition, unlike a normal colon cell line control, these three cell lines exhibited constitutive, high-level expression of the gene during their growth in cultures. These results indicate that elevated expression of the c-myc oncogene occurs frequently in primary human colon carcinomas and that the mechanism involved in the regulation of c-myc expression is altered in tumor-derived cell lines.

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Selected References

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