Specific inducibility of globin mRNA in Friend leukemia cells in low serum concentration

Friend leukemia cells were adapted to grow in a medium containing 0.5% serum by gradually decreasing concentration of the serum from 15%. Upon treatment of the cells with dimethyl sulfoxide, appearance of benzidine-positive cells was suppressed in the cells cultivated in a 0.5% serum medium, whereas globin mRNA sequences, as determined by hybridization of cytoplasmic RNA with globin cDNA, increased to the same order as in the cells grown in a medium containing 15% serum. A small but significant amount of globin was synthesized in cells treated with dimethyl sulfoxide in 0.5% serum medium, as determined by dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of 3H-labeled cellular proteins.