Absence of procollagen alpha 2(I) mRNA in chemically transformed rat liver epithelial cells

The W8 cell line, a chemically transformed variant of K16 rat liver epithelial cells, does not produce a normal type I collagen but instead secretes alpha 1(I) trimer and no alpha 2(I) chains (Smith, B.D., and Niles, R. (1980) Biochemistry 19, 1820-1825). Analysis of total cellular RNA from the K16 and W8 cells by cell-free translation in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate demonstrates the specific absence of translatable pro-alpha 2(I) collagen mRNA. No alpha 2(I) collagen mRNA sequences were detected by Northern hybridization analysis using cloned rat alpha 2(I) cDNAs as a probe. The total amount of alpha 1(I) collagen mRNAs, however, was the same in both cell types, suggesting a lack of coordinate control of alpha 1(I) and alpha 2(I) mRNAs in the transformed cells.