Identification of the v-rel protein in REV-T transformed chicken bone marrow cells and expression in Cos1 cells.

The product of the v-rel oncogene has been identified as a 55,000 dalton protein using antiserum prepared against a synthetic polypeptide whose sequence was deduced from the DNA sequence of v-rel. This antiserum was used in a Western blot assay to identify the product of v-rel in chicken bone marrow cells transformed with reticuloendotheliosis virus, strain T (REV-T), and in Cos1 cells transfected with an expression vector containing the v-rel gene. Transient expression of v-rel under the transcriptional control of the SV40 late promoter in Cos1 cells leads to the synthesis of a rel specific protein with a similar molecular weight.