Expression of c-myc and c-Ha-ras oncogenes in human lymphoblastoid cells (Namalva)

We have studied the expression of c-myc and c-Ha-ras oncogenes in this cell line. Daudi lymphoblastoid cells and normal human leukocytes served as a positive and a negative control, respectively. The Northern blot analysis using a c-myc probe revealed a 2.7 kb transcript and two larger transcripts greater than 23 kb. In the Northern blot hybridization using a c-Ha-ras probe, two transcripts with sizes of 1.8 and 6.1 kb were observed. The affinity of the Namalva RNA hybridization to c-myc probe was about 10-fold lower than that in Daudi RNA, whereas no difference in the c-Ha-ras hybridization was observed between the two cell lines. These data indicate that c-myc and c-Ha-ras are expressed in Namalva cells. It is noteworthy to consider that the difference in oncogene expression between Namalva and Daudi cells might be due to the difference in interferon properties between the two cell lines.