Transformation of bone marrow cells from eμ-myc transgenic mice by Abelson murine leukemia virus and Harvey murine sarcoma virus

Abstract

Transgenic mice harboring a c-myc gene subjugated to the immunoglobulin heavy chain enhancer offer a unique opportunity to investigate whether deregulated myc expression potentiates the transformation of B lymphoid cells by other oncogenes. By assessing colony formation in semi-solid medium, we have compared the potential of bone marrow cells from Eμ-myc mice and their normal littermates for transformation by Harvey murine sarcoma virus and Abelson murine leukemia virus. Eμ-myc bone marrow yielded more lymphoid colonies than normal marrow after infection with Harvey virus. The increased transformation frequency may reflect increased clonogenicity due to complementation between myc and ras an..