Elevated level of p60c-src in virus-transformed murine megakaryocytic cell lines.

Megakaryocytic cell lines derived from mouse bone marrow cells transformed by the Myeloproliferative Leukemia Virus (MPLV) contain elevated levels of p60c-src. Northern blot analysis revealed the presence of a 4 kb normal sized c-src transcript only in MPLV-transformed megakaryocytic cell lines containing a high percentage of acetylcholinesterase positive cells (AChE+ greater than 10%), but not in MPLV-transformed erythroblastic or myeloblastic cell lines. The p60c-src protein was identified in lysates from in vivo labelled cells and in in vitro labelled membrane extracts by immunoblotting analysis and by immunoprecipitations with specific anti-src antibodies. In dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) treated cells, the number of AChE+ cells increased together with p60c-src kinase activity indicating a possible correlation between p60c-src expression/activity and megakaryocytic differentiation.