c-Ki-ras gene amplification and malignant behavior in murine embryonal carcinoma cell lines.

Embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells are malignant components of murine teratoma tumors. To extend our earlier findings concerning c-Ki-ras amplification in the embryonal carcinoma PCC4 cell line, we examined the c-Ki-ras protooncogene and its expression in other EC cell lines. We report here that c-Ki-ras amplification is not a general feature of EC cell lines since neither PCC3, PCC6, nor F9 cell lines have an amplified copy number of this protooncogene. Furthermore, molecular analysis of three independently passaged PCC4 cell lines showed marked heterogeneity for c-Ki-ras amplification. Two PCC4 cell lines showed amplified copy number and elevated expression of c-Ki-ras whereas the original one does not, suggesting that this gene amplification occurred through laboratory passage. Malignancy in syngeneic mice of PCC4 with or without an amplified c-Ki-ras gene was also examined. Our results indicate that c-Ki-ras amplification alone is not a determining factor in the malignant behavior of EC cells.