Amplification of the gene encoding the alpha-subunit of the mitochondrial ATP synthase complex in a human retinoblastoma cell line.

A cDNA clone encoding the precursor of the alpha-subunit of the human mitochondrial ATP synthase (F1-ATPS) complex was isolated from a library prepared from the poly(A)+ RNA present in a retinoblastoma (RB) cell line. Northern blot analysis of RNAs derived from a variety of transformed cell lines as well as from normal human fetal tissues indicated that RNA expression was significantly higher in two of the four RB cell lines analysed, Y79 (10- to 30-fold) and RB522A (3- to 8-fold), than in other cell lines or tissues. The increased mRNA level was apparently the result of gene amplification in Y79, but not in RB522A.