c-myc protein can be substituted for SV40 T antigen in SV40 DNA replication.

Replicating activity of SV40 origin-containing plasmid was tested in human cells as well as in monkey CosI cells. All the plasmids possessing SV40 ori sequences could replicate, even in the absence of SV40 T antigen, in human HL-60 and Raji cells which are expressing c-myc gene at high level. The copy numbers of the replicated plasmids in these human cells were 1/100 as high as in monkey CosI cells which express SV40 T antigen constitutively. Exactly the same plasmids as the transfected original ones were recovered from the Hirt supernatant of the transfected HL-60 cells. Furthermore, replication of the SV40 ori-containing plasmids in HL-60 cells was inhibited by anti-c-myc antibody co-transfected into the cells. These results indicate that the c-myc protein can be substituted for SV40 T antigen in SV40 DNA replication.