[Expression of c-myc and c-ki-ras oncogene in human pancreatic carcinoma]

Using Northern blot technique, the oncogene expression in normal pancreatic tissue and human pancreatic carcinoma PC-2 and PC-3 cell lines was studied. Four oncogene probes (c-N-ras, c-ki-ras, c-myc and c-fos) consisting of recovered endonuclease digested fragments were nick translated. After hybridization and autoradiography, none of the four oncogenes was expressed in the normal human pancreatic tissue, but the human pancreatic carcinoma PC-2 and PC-3 cell lines expressed the c-myc and c-ki-ras genes. Their transcripts were 2.7 and 6.0 kb, respectively. Expression of the other two oncogenes (c-N-ras and c-fos) was not detected. The results of this study together with those reported in the literature verify the fact that the expression of c-myc and c-ki-ras oncogenes may play a very important role in the development of human pancreatic carcinoma.