Transformation of mouse bone marrow cells by transfection with a human oncogene related to c-myc is associated with the endogenous production of macrophage colony stimulating factor 1.

We recently derived a series of transformed cell lines by transfecting mouse bone marrow cells highly enriched for macrophage progenitors with a newly described human gene, R-myc, which has homology to the c-myc oncogene. In this report, we show that these lines share some features characteristic of cells of the mononuclear phagocyte lineage. Specifically, all cell lines had macrophage- or monocytelike morphology, contained nonspecific esterase, were phagocytic for latex beads, secreted lysozyme, bore the Mac-1 antigen, and contained a minority of cells with Fc receptors. However, only a single monocytelike clone had appreciable numbers of cells which bore complement receptor 1, and none were phagocytic for antibody or complement-coated particles, or constitutively secreted Interleukin-1. All these cell lines secreted a growth factor capable of supporting the in vitro proliferation of bone marrow macrophages. Radioimmunoassay and receptor binding studies indicate that this factor is colony stimulating factor 1.