Structure and expression of the rat c-jun messenger RNA: tissue distribution and increase during chemical hepatocarcinogenesis.

c-jun is the cellular homologue of the recently isolated nuclear oncogene v-jun. This protooncogene encodes the cellular transcription factor AP-1. We have isolated the complementary DNA clone of rat c-jun mRNA. The rat c-jun complementary DNA clone encodes 334 amino acid residues, the sequence of which shows about 98, 96, and 81% homologies with mouse, human, and chicken c-jun products, respectively. The c-jun mRNA is highly expressed in the lung and slightly expressed in the brain. The amount of mRNA is even smaller in the liver and is not detected in the spleen. We have also determined c-jun expression during chemical hepatocarcinogenesis and demonstrated increased expression of mRNA in the precancerous lesion, hyperplastic nodules, as well as in the primary hepatocellular carcinomas.