Expression of L-myc and N-myc proto-oncogenes in human leukemias and leukemia cell lines.

The myc proto-oncogenes encode nuclear phosphoproteins, which are believed to participate in the control of cell proliferation and differentiation. Deregulated expression of c-myc has been implicated in several human hematopoietic malignancies. We have studied the expression and mRNA processing of human L-myc, N-myc, and c-myc genes in a panel of human leukemias, leukemia cell lines, and normal hematopoietic cells. L-myc mRNA was expressed in three acute myeloid leukemias (AML) studied and in several myeloid leukemia cell lines. Only low expression levels were observed in adult bone marrow and in fetal spleen and thymus. The K562 and Dami leukemia cell lines showed a unique pattern of L-myc mRNA processing, with approximately 40% of L-myc mRNA lacking exon III and intron I. N-myc was expressed in five of six AML cases studied, in one of nine acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) cases, and in several leukemia cell lines, while c-myc mRNA was detected in all leukemias and leukemia cell lines studied. Coexpression of all three myc genes was observed in Dami and MOLT-4 cell lines and in two AMLs, and either L-myc or N-myc was coexpressed with c-myc in several other cases. These results show that in addition to c-myc, the L-myc and N-myc genes are expressed in some human leukemias and leukemia cell lines, and suggest a lack of mutually exclusive cross-regulation of the myc genes in human leukemia cells.