Induction of transiently expressed genes in PC-12 pheochromocytoma cells

Rat PC-12 pheochromocytoma cells, in response to nerve growth factor (NGF), stop proliferating and differentiate into cells resembling sympathetic neurons. This model of cell differentiation was used to investigate the expression of a previously isolated collection of mitogen-induced primary response sequences cloned from murine 3T3 cells; the TIS (tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate-induced sequences) genes (Lim et al., 1987). The TIS cDNAs were used to probe RNA isolated from PC-12 cells stimulated with NGF and other agents. Six of these messages were rapidly and transiently induced by NGF, tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate (TPA), or epidermal growth factor (EGF). Expression of these TIS genes generally resembled the NGF-stimulated induction of c-fos. In contrast, one TIS gene (TIS 10), induced by mitogens in 3T3 cells, was not induced by NGF, TPA, or EGF in PC-12 cells. Like c-fos, these TIS genes induced by NGF could also be superinduced by the combined administration of NGF and benzodiazepine. Elevated potassium ion, which leads to the induction of c-fos in PC-12 cells via activation of a voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel, also induces all TIS genes, with the notable exception of TIS 10. The induction of this family of genes may be involved in the general transduction of extracellular signals into biological responses.