Activation of c-myc gene transcription by Rous sarcoma virus infection.

Transcription of the c-myc gene in chick embryo fibroblast cells was activated 50- to 100-fold by Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) infection. More than 30-fold activation of c-myc gene transcription was also observed in RSV-transformed rat cells as compared with the control cells. The increased expression of c-myc gene in these cells was not due to gene amplification or gene rearrangement. This striking increase in expression of c-myc gene may be relevant to neoplastic transformation of RSV-infected cells.