Hemin controls the expression of the beta minor globin gene in Friend erythroleukemic cells at the pretranslational level.

When clone 745 Friend erythroleukemia cells are induced to differentiate by treatment with 1 X 10(-4) M hemin, the beta minor globin gene is preferentially expressed over the beta major gene. An analysis of the beta-mRNA molecules in in vitro translation systems indicates that essentially only the beta minor message is available for translation. This indicates that in Friend erythroleukemia cells hemin selectively controls the expression of the beta minor globin gene at the pretranslational level.