Single-cell detection of ets-1 transcripts in human neuroectodermal cells.

The genes of the ets family are thought to code for a novel class of transcriptional factors. These proteins have a specific DNA-binding domain different from the basic domain of both the helix-loop-helix and leucine zipper families of DNA-binding proteins. The ets-1 gene product has been shown to bind to the enhancer region of the human T-cell receptor alpha gene during thymocyte ontogeny. This finding explains the high expression of ets-1 observed in T cells and the correlation between ets-1 expression and the expression of the T-cell receptor gene during fetal development. The ets-1 gene is also possibly biologically active in neural cells. By using RNA in situ hybridization analysis, we demonstrate the presence of ets-1 transcripts in cells of peripheral embryonal neuroectodermal tumors, specifically neuroepithelioma and neuroblastoma. In addition, the gene is found transcribed in Ewing's sarcoma, postulated to be ontogenetically related to tumors derived from the neural crest.