Control of dihydrofolate reductase messenger ribonucleic acid production.

We used methotrexate-resistant mouse cells in which dihydrofolate reductase levels are approximately 500 times normal to study the effect of growth stimulation on dihydrofolate reductase gene expression. As a result of growth stimulation, the relative rate of dihydrofolate reductase protein synthesis increased threefold, reaching a maximum between 25 and 30 h after stimulation. The relative rate of dihydrofolate reductase messenger ribonucleic acid production (i.e., the appearance of dihydrofolate reductase messenger ribonucleic acid in the cytoplasm) increased threefold after growth stimulation and was accompanied by a corresponding increase in the relative steady-state level of dihydrofolate reductase ribonucleic acid in the nucleus. However, the increase in the nuclear level of dihydrofolate reductase ribonucleic acid was not accompanied by a significant increase in the relative rate of transcription of the dihydrofolate reductase genes. These data indicated that the relative rate of appearance of dihydrofolate reductase messenger ribonucleic acid in the cytoplasm depends on the relative stability of the dihydrofolate reductase ribonucleic acid sequences in the nucleus and is not dependent on the relative rate of transcription of the dihydrofolate reductase genes.