Three human transforming genes are related to the viral ras oncogenes.

Three distinct transforming genes present in human tumor cell lines are all related to the viral oncogenes of Harvey and Kirsten murine sarcoma viruses, designated v-H-ras and v-K-ras, respectively. The transforming gene of a bladder carcinoma cell line has been shown to be a human homolog to v-H-ras [Parada, L. F., Tabin, C. J., Shih, C. & Weinberg, R. A. (1982) Nature (London) 297, 474-478; Santos, E., Tronick, S. R., Aaronson, S. A., Pulciani, S. & Barbacid, M. (1982) Nature (London) 298, 343-347]. The transforming gene common to one colon (SK-CO-1) and two lung carcinoma (SK-LU-1 and Calu-1) cell lines is the same human homolog of v-K-ras as is the transforming gene previously identified in a lung carcinoma cell line Lx-1 [Der, C. J., Krontiris, T. G. & Cooper, G. M. (1982) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 79, 3637-3640]. The transforming gene of SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells is weakly homologous to both v-H-ras and v-K-ras. NIH 3T3 cells transformed with the SK-N-SH transforming gene contain increased levels of a protein serologically and structurally related to the protein products of the v-H-ras and v-K-ras genes. Therefore, it represents a third member of the ras gene family, which we have called N-ras. Based on the homology with the v-ras genes, we have established the orientation of transcription and approximate coding regions of the cloned human K-ras and N-ras genes.