Induction of c-fos but not c-myc in S-91 cells by melanization signals.

Synthesis of the pigment melanin is a complex differentiated function performed by pigment cells in response to a variety of stimuli. The possible roles of the proto-oncogenes c-fos and c-myc in the control of pigmentation were studied using subconfluent, actively proliferating Cloudman S-91 murine melanoma cells stimulated to synthesize melanin by melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH) or forskolin. Stimulation caused a significant increase in melanin synthesis when compared to control cells, but had no effect on cell growth. Northern analysis of total cellular RNA demonstrated rapid, transient induction of c-fos mRNA as early as 30 min after stimulation with MSH or forskolin. In contrast, there was no effect on the high constitutive expression of c-myc in these actively proliferating cells. These data strongly suggest that the induction of c-fos mRNA is an early genetic event in stimulation of melanin synthesis and thus this proto-oncogene may play a major role in the regulation of this differentiated function, as reported for other forms of cellular differentiation. In contrast, c-myc expression is unaffected and instead correlated with cellular proliferative capacity. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the down-regulation of c-myc frequently observed during cell differentiation is not a necessary event, but rather reflects an associated decrease in cell growth rate. The S-91 melanoma system appears to provide a convenient model for study of the regulation for a single, well defined differentiated function that is independent of growth rate.