Protein stabilization explains the gag requirement for transformation of lymphoid cells by Abelson murine leukemia virus.

The single protein encoded by Abelson murine leukemia virus is a fusion of sequence from the retroviral gag genes with the v-abl sequence. Deletion of most of the gag region from the transforming protein results in a virus capable of transforming fibroblasts but no longer capable of transforming lymphoid cells. Smaller deletions in gag reveal that p15 gag sequences are responsible for this effect, whereas deletion of p12 sequences had no effect on lymphoid transformation. In transformed fibroblasts, p15-deleted and normal proteins had similar activities and subcellular localization. When the p15-deleted genome was introduced into previously transformed lymphoid lines, its protein product exhibited a marked instability. The tyrosine-specific autophosphorylation activity per cell was less than 1/20th that of the nondeleted protein. Although pulse-Ia-beling showed that the p15-deleted protein was synthesized efficiently, immunoblotting demonstrated that its steady-state level was less than 1/10th that of the nondeleted Abelson protein. The specific instability of the p15-deleted protein in lymphoid cells explains the requirement of these sequences for lymphoid but not fibroblast transformation.     

Specific transforming potential of oncogenes encoding protein-tyrosine kinases.

Several chimeric murine retroviruses were constructed to test whether the gag sequence of Abelson murine leukemia virus (A-MuLV) could influence the in vitro specificity of two sarcoma-inducing oncogenes: src of Rous sarcoma virus and fps of Fujinami sarcoma virus. Although the src- or fps- containing chimerae could transform fibroblasts, they were unable to mimic the action of A-MuLV in causing lymphoid transformation in vitro. A-MuLV-derived gag sequences could, however, functionally replace the 5' end of src and restore the transformation potential of a 5'-truncated src gene. To investigate this functional similarity, we replaced the gag sequence of an A-MuLV virus with the 5' end of src. This recombinant virus behaved like the A-MuLV virus from which it was derived: it transformed both fibroblasts and lymphoid cells in vitro. Taken together, these results suggest that lymphoid transformation in vitro is a specific property of abl and not of src or fps. Furthermore, it shows that a functional homology exists between the gag sequence of A-MuLV and the 5' end of src.     

A membrane-associated, carbohydrate-modified form of the v-abl protein that cannot be phosphorylated in vivo or in vitro.

Abelson murine leukemia virus encodes a transforming protein which contains tyrosine kinase activity and is phosphorylated in vivo and in vitro. We found that P160 and P160-derived virus strains expressed an additional, altered v-abl protein which could not be phosphorylated. The altered v-abl protein (L-v-abl) differed from the phosphorylated form (K-v-abl) in that it was glycosylated and localized exclusively to the membrane fraction. Tunicamycin inhibition of N-linked carbohydrate addition did not restore phosphorylation. It did, however, reveal that L-v-abl had additional sequences relative to K-v-abl. The coding sequences required for this region and for the expression of L-v-abl were identified by replacing sequences in the P120 virus genome, which did not express L-v-abl, with sequences from the P160 virus genome. The necessary sequences were localized to the Moloney murine leukemia virus-derived gag gene. Comparison between the in vitro altered P120 and wild-type P120 virus strains indicated that expression of L-v-abl did not increase the efficiency of lymphoid transformation. Although the biological role of L-v-abl is not clear, our analyses have revealed that a specific amino terminal gag sequence can prevent v-abl from acting as a kinase substrate and can alter the cellular localization and modification of v-abl. These properties distinguish L-v-abl from previously reported v-abl proteins.     

Abelson murine leukemia virus mutants with alterations in the virus-specific P120 molecule.

Abelson murine leukemia virus (A-MuLV) is a replication-defective virus that transforms both fibroblasts and hematopoietic cells in vitro. The virus encodes a 120,000-molecular-weight protein (P120) that is composed of Moloney murine leukemia virus-derived gag gene sequences and A-MuLV--specific sequences. This protein is the only A-MuLV--encoded protein that has been detected, and thus P120 is a candidate for the transforming protein of A-MuLV. We now report isolation and characterization of three new A-MuLV isolates that do not synthesize P120 but do produce analogous proteins of larger (160,000 molecular weight) and smaller (100,000 and 90,000 molecular weight) size. All of these A-MuLV isolates transform fibroblasts and lymphoid cells in vitro. Because the different A-MuLV proteins vary in the A-MuLV--specific region of the molecule, these variants may set a maximum limit on the size of the A-MuLV transforming protein.     

Genome structure of Abelson murine leukemia virus variants: proviruses in fibroblasts and lymphoid cells.

We have prepared full-length DNA clones of the Abelson murine leukemia virus (A-MuLV) genome. A specific probe homologous to the central portion of the A-MuLV genome was prepared by nick translation of a subcloned restriction fraction from the cloned DNA. The probe was used to examine the genome structure of several A-MuLV variants. The conclusions are: (i) three viruses coding for Abelson-specific proteins of molecular weight 120,000, 100,000, and 90,000 had genomes indistinguishable in size, suggesting that the shorter proteins are the result of early translational termination; (ii) compared with the genome encoding the 120,000-dalton (120K) protein, a genome coding for a 160K protein was 0.8 kilobase larger in the A-MuLV-specific region; and (iii) a genome coding for a 92K protein had a 700-base pair deletion internal to the coding region. This mutant was transformation defective: its 92K protein lacked the protein kinase activity normally associated with the A-MuLV protein, and cells containing the virus were not morphologically transformed. In addition, we determined the number of A-MuLV proviruses in each of several transformed fibroblast and lymphoid cells prepared by infection in vitro. These experiments show that a single copy of the A-MuLV provirus is sufficient to transform both types of cells and that nonproducer cells generally have only one integrated provirus.     

Site-directed deletions of Abelson murine leukemia virus define 3'' sequences essential for transformation and lethality.

Abelson murine leukemia virus (A-MuLV) encodes a single protein with tyrosine kinase activity that can transform fibroblast cell lines in vitro and lymphoid target cells in vitro and in vivo. Expression of kinase-active A-MuLV protein can result in a deleterious effect on transformed fibroblast populations, leading to cell death or selection for nonlethal mutants of the virus. These mutants retain expression of the kinase activity but have lost large portions of the carboxy terminus of the Abelson protein. To more precisely map the sequences involved in this lethal effect, we have isolated a series of site-directed deletions from a DNA clone of the P160 wild-type strain of A-MuLV. In addition, a number of unexpected, spontaneous deletions occurring during transfection of NIH 3T3 cells were isolated. These deletions result in expression of carboxy-terminal truncated forms of the A-MuLV protein ranging from 130,000 to 84,000 in molecular weight. Analysis of the transforming and lethal activities of each mutant recovered in its RNA viral form shows that the transformation-essential and lethal-essential sequences do not overlap. These data and our previous work suggest that a function carried by the carboxy-terminal region of the A-MuLV protein acts in cis with the kinase-essential region to mediate the lethal effect.     

BCR-ABL and v-abl oncogenes induce distinct patterns of thymic lymphoma involving different lymphocyte subsets.

The human BCR-ABL oncogenes encoded by the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) affect the pathogenesis of diverse types of leukemia and yet are rarely associated with T-lymphoid leukemia. To determine whether BCR-ABL kinases are inefficient in transforming T lymphocytes, BCR-ABL-expressing retroviruses were injected intrathymically into mice. Thymomas that expressed BCR-ABL kinase developed after a relatively long latent period. In most thymomas, deletion of 3' proviral sequences resulted in loss of tk-neo and occasionally caused expression of kinase-active carboxy-terminally truncated BCR-ABL oncoprotein. In contrast, deletion of 3' proviral sequences was not observed in thymomas induced with Abelson murine leukemia virus (A-MuLV). BCR-ABL viruses induced distinct patterns of disease and involved different thymocyte subsets than A-MuLV and Moloney murine leukemia virus (Mo-MuLV). While Mo-MuLV only induced Thy-1+ thymomas, v-abl- and BCR-ABL-induced thymomas often contained mixed populations of B220+ and Thy-1+ lymphocytes in the same tumor. In most v-abl and BCR-ABL tumors, Thy-1+ lymphoid cells expressed CD8 and a continuum of CD4 ranging from negative to positive. Conversely, Mo-MuLV thymomas contained distinct populations of CD4+ cells that were either CD8+ or CD8-. A-MuLV-transformed T-lymphoid cells did not express the CD3/T-cell receptor complex, while BCR-ABL tumors were CD3+. Thus, BCR-ABL viruses preferentially induce somewhat more differentiated T lymphocytes than are transformed by A-MuLV. Furthermore, rare B220+ lymphocytes may represent preferred v-abl and BCR-ABL transformation targets in the thymus.     

Nucleic acid sequence and oncogenic properties of the HZ2 feline sarcoma virus v-abl insert.

Hardy-Zuckerman 2 feline sarcoma virus (HZ2-FeSV), isolated from a multicentric feline fibrosarcoma is a replication-defective acute transforming feline retrovirus which originated by transduction of feline c-abl sequences with feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and is known to encode a 110-kilodalton gag-abl fusion protein with tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity (P. Besmer, W. D. Hardy, E. E. Zuckerman, P. J. Bergold, L. Lederman, and H. W. Snyder, Nature (London) 303:825-828, 1983). The nucleotide sequence of the abl segment in the HZ2-FeSV genome was determined and compared with the murine and human v-abl and c-abl sequences. The predicted transforming protein consists of 344 amino acids (aa) of FeLV gag origin, 439 aa of abl origin, and at least 200 aa of FeLV pol origin (p110gag-abl-pol). The 1,317-base-pair HZ2-FeSV v-abl segment (fv-abl) corresponds to 5' abl sequences which include the region known to specify the protein kinase domain. The 5' 189 base pairs of fv-abl correspond to 5' c-abl sequences not contained in Abelson murine leukemia virus (MuLV) v-abl. The mouse c-abl exon which contains these segments was identified, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequence of fv-abl with those of Abelson MuLV v-abl and c-abl revealed five aa differences. The 5' junction between FeLV and abl was found to involve a preferred region in FeLV gag p30 (P. Besmer, J. E. Murphy, P. C. George, F. H. Qiu, P. J. Bergold, L. Lederman, H. W. Snyder, D. Brodeur, E. E. Zuckerman, and W. D. Hardy, Nature (London) 320:415-421, 1986). A six-base homology exists at the recombination site between the parental FeLV and the c-abl sequences. The 3' junction between fv-abl and FeLV pol predicts an in-frame fusion of fv-abl and FeLV pol. A transformed cell line containing a truncated gag-abl-pol protein, p85, that lacks most of the FeLV pol sequences was obtained by transfection of NIH 3T3 mouse cells. This result implies that the pol sequences of the p110gag-abl-pol protein are dispensable for fibroblast transformation. To assess whether the fv-abl segment specifies the unique biological properties of HZ2-FeSV, we constructed a Moloney MuLV-based version of HZ2-FeSV, Mo-MuLV(fv-abl), in which the fv-abl sequences were contained in a genetic context similar to that in HZ2-FeSV.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Abelson murine leukemia virus induces platelet-derived growth factor-independent fibroblast growth: correlation with kinase activity and dissociation from full morphologic transformation.

Abelson murine leukemia virus (A-MuLV) encodes a single protein product, a tyrosine-specific protein kinase, whose activity is necessary for cell transformation by this retrovirus. Using a defined medium culture system, we demonstrate that transformation of NIH 3T3 fibroblasts by A-MuLV abrogates their normal requirement for platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) for cell growth. Analysis of constructed insertional mutant viruses revealed an absolute correlation between A-MuLV-encoded tyrosine kinase activity and PDGF-independent fibroblast growth. Sequences of the provirus not required for kinase activity appeared unnecessary for abrogating the fibroblast requirement for PDGF. Conversely, sequences required for kinase activity appeared necessary, suggesting that induction of PDGF-independent fibroblast growth, like cell transformation, is a function of this tyrosine kinase. Fibroblasts transformed by a partially transformation-defective mutant demonstrated incomplete morphological transformation but were still independent of PDGF for growth. Thus, the processes of full morphological transformation and growth factor independence can be partially dissociated.     

N-terminal mutations activate the leukemogenic potential of the myristoylated form of c-abl.

The two major forms of the c-abl gene differ from their activated counterpart, the v-abl oncogene of the Abelson murine leukemia virus by the replacement of their N-terminal sequences with viral gag sequences. Overexpression of p150c-abl type IV in a retroviral vector similar to Abelson virus does not transform NIH 3T3 fibroblasts, even though it is expressed and myristoylated at levels comparable to pp160v-abl. Members of a nested set of deletion mutations of the N-terminus of c-abl type IV in this expression system will activate abl to transform murine fibroblasts. The smallest of these deletions, delta XB, efficiently transforms lymphoid cells in vitro and causes leukemia in vivo demonstrating that gag sequences are not necessary for abl-induced leukemogenesis. The delta XB mutation defines an N-terminal regulatory domain, which shares a surprising homology with chicken oncogene v-crk and phospholipase C-II. Although overexpression of the myristoylated form of c-abl does not transform cells, it nonetheless has a profound effect on cell growth.     

Transfection of Fibroblasts by Cloned Abelson Murine Leukemia Virus DNA and Recovery of Transmissible Virus by Recombination with Helper Virus

A cloned, permuted DNA copy of the Abelson murine leukemia virus (A-MuLV) genome was capable of eliciting the morphological transformation of NIH/3T3 fibroblasts when applied to cells in a calcium phosphate precipitate. The efficiency of the process was extremely low, yielding approximately one transformant per microgram of DNA under conditions which give 10(4) transfectants per microgram of other DNAs (e.g., Moloney sarcoma virus proviral DNA). The DNA was able to induce foci, even though the 3' end of the genome was not present. The transforming gene was thus localized to the 5' portion of the genome. The transformed cells all produced viral RNA and the virus-specific P90 protein. Transmissible virus could be rescued from these cells at very low frequencies by superinfection with helper virus; the rescued A-MuLV virus had variable 3' ends apparently derived by recombination with the helper. Dimerization of the permuted A-MuLV cloned genome to reconstruct a complete provirus did not improve transformation efficiency. Virus could be rescued from these transformants, however, at a high efficiency. Cotransfection of the permuted A-MuLV DNA with proviral M-MuLV DNA yielded a significant increase in the efficiency of transformation and cotransfection of dimeric A-MuLV and proviral M-MuLV resulted in a high-efficiency transformation yielding several thousand more transformants per microgram than A-MuLV DNA alone. We propose that helper virus efficiently rescues A-MuLV from transiently transfected cells which would not otherwise have grown into foci. We hypothesize that multiple copies of A-MuLV DNA introduced into cells by transfection are toxic to cells. In support of this hypothesis, we have shown that A-MuLV DNA sequences can inhibit the stable transformation of cells by other selectable DNAs.     

A rearranged junD transforms chicken embryo fibroblasts.

A complementary DNA clone synthesized from the chicken junD mRNA, containing 5'- and 3'-untranslated sequences, was inserted in the retroviral expression vector RCAS to yield the construct JD. A second RCAS construct (DDDD) contained only the coding domains of JunD. DDDD did not transform upon primary transfection, but JD produced small numbers of transformed cell foci in chicken embryo fibroblast cultures. The virus recovered from these foci, JDV, was moderately transforming for chicken fibroblasts and weakly oncogenic in the animal. Its genome was rearranged, showing evidence for two recombination events. The first crossover was located between 5'-untranslated and coding sequences of junD and incorporated part of the 5'-untranslated region into an open reading frame. The second crossover occurred between junD and gag. The two crossovers generate a single open reading frame of 2064 nucleotides that encodes an 85 kilodalton protein in which sequences in the amino-terminal region of JunD are duplicated. This gag junD reading frame was recloned and then reconstituted into a replication-defective but transformation-competent retrovirus, indicating that the Gag-JunD fusion protein is the effector of transformation. A construct containing this rearranged coding sequence of JunD in Rc/RSV transactivated the collagenase promoter in chicken cells. Southern blot analysis of several independently isolated JunD transformants and deletion analysis of JDV indicated that duplication of a domain in the amino-terminal region of JunD is crucial for transformation and transactivation.     

A fps gene without gag gene sequences transforms cells in culture and induces tumors in chickens.

From molecularly cloned DNAs of Fujinami sarcoma virus (FSV) and the Schmidt-Ruppin-A strain of Rous sarcoma virus (SRA), viral DNA was constructed in which fps-specific sequences encoded in FSV replaced the src gene of SRA. A 3' fragment of FSV DNA, from an ATG methionine coding sequence 148 base pairs downstream from the gag-fps junction through the long terminal repeat, was joined to cloned SRA DNA at the translation start site for the src gene. The resultant DNA clone contained the splice acceptor site for src mRNA processing in SRA, but contained no src coding sequences from SRA nor any gag sequences from FSV. All genes for the replication of SRA were retained. Transfection of this cloned viral DNA genome into chicken embryo fibroblasts induced morphological transformation of the cells in culture. However, the morphology of the transformed cells was distinct from that observed in cells infected with wild-type FSV. The transformed cells produced a nondefective transforming virus called F36 which contained a hybrid FSV-SRA long terminal repeat. F36-infected cells produced a protein with the expected molecular weight of 91,000, which had an associated protein kinase activity and was immunoprecipitated by antibodies raised against fps gene determinants but not by antibodies raised against gag or src proteins. Injection of F36 virus into 8-day-old chicks produced tumors at the site of inoculation, detectable within 7 days. These results demonstrated that the gag portion of the gag-fps fusion protein of FSV is not required for transformation or tumorigenesis.     

Characterization of mouse cellular deoxyribonucleic acid homologous to Abelson murine leukemia virus-specific sequences.

The genome of Abelson murine leukemia virus (A-MuLV) consists of sequences derived from both BALB/c mouse deoxyribonucleic acid and the genome of Moloney murine leukemia virus. Using deoxyribonucleic acid linear intermediates as a source of retroviral deoxyribonucleic acid, we isolated a recombinant plasmid which contained 1.9 kilobases of the 3.5-kilobase mouse-derived sequences found in A-MuLV (A-MuLV-specific sequences). We used this clone, designated pSA-17, as a probe restriction enzyme and Southern blot analyses to examine the arrangement of homologous sequences in BALB/c deoxyribonucleic acid (endogenous Abelson sequences). The endogenous Abelson sequences within the mouse genome were interrupted by noncoding regions, suggesting that a rearrangement of the cell sequences was required to produce the sequence found in the virus. Endogenous Abelson sequences were arranged similarly in mice that were susceptible to A-MuLV tumors and in mice that were resistant to A-MuLV tumors. An examination of three BALB/c plasmacytomas and a BALB/c early B-cell tumor likewise revealed no alteration in the arrangement of the endogenous Abelson sequences. Homology to pSA-17 was also observed in deoxyribonucleic acids prepared from rat, hamster, chicken, and human cells. An isolate of A-MuLV which encoded a 160,000-dalton transforming protein (P160) contained 700 more base pairs of mouse sequences than the standard A-MuLV isolate, which encoded a 120,000-dalton transforming protein (P120).     

The mouse c-abl locus: molecular cloning and characterization

The mouse c-abl gene, part of the sequence of which was captured in Moloney murine leukemia virus to generate the transforming gene (v-abl) of the Abelson murine leukemia virus, has been isolated and characterized. The c-abl locus spans 40 kb in the mouse genome with the v-abl homologies distributed in no less than ten clusters along 25 kb of the cloned DNA. Partial sequence of the v-abl homologous regions indicates that v-abl derived from c-abl mainly by splicing of multiple exons of the c-abl gene. The c-abl sequences can be subdivided into two regions: a tyrosine kinase coding sequence distributed among eight small clusters on the 5' end of the gene and a C-terminal portion consisting of one small and one large cluster, which are needed neither for the tyrosine kinase activity nor for the transforming ability of v-abl. Apparent exon/intron boundaries in the homologous kinase-coding regions of c-abl and c-src are at different locations.     

gag as well as myc sequences contribute to the transforming phenotype of the avian retrovirus FH3.

The avian retrovirus FH3, like MC29 and CMII, encodes a Gag-Myc fusion protein. However, the FH3-encoded protein is larger, about 145 kDa, and contains almost the entire retroviral gag gene. In contrast to the other gag-myc avian retroviruses, FH3 fails to transform fibroblasts in vitro, although macrophages are transformed both in vitro and in vivo (C. Chen, B. J. Biegalke, R. N. Eisenman, and M. L. Linial, J. Virol. 63:5092-5100, 1989). We have used the polymerase chain reaction technique to obtain a molecular clone of FH3. Sequence analysis of the FH3 myc oncogene revealed a single proline----histidine change (position 223) relative to c-myc. However, substitution of the FH3 myc sequence with the chicken c-myc sequence did not alter the transformation potential of the virus. Hence, overexpression of the proto-oncogene as a Gag-Myc retroviral protein is sufficient for macrophage, but not fibroblast, transformation. After passage of FH3 in fibroblast cultures, a virus (FH3L) that is capable of rapidly transforming fibroblasts appears. The Gag-Myc protein encoded by FH3L is smaller (ca. 130 kDa) than that encoded by the original viral stock (FH3E). Sequencing of an FH3L molecular clone revealed a 212-amino-acid deletion within the Gag portion. Using FH3E/FH3L recombinants, we have demonstrated that the ability of encoded viruses to transform fibroblasts directly correlates with the presence of this deletion. Moreover, the addition of the Gag sequence deleted from FH3L to the MC29 oncoprotein significantly reduces its transforming activity as measured by focus assay. These data suggest that the C-terminal segment of Gag attenuates the oncogenic potential of Gag-Myc fusion proteins.     

Conservation of function of Drosophila melanogaster abl and murine v-abl proteins in transformation of mammalian cells.

The Drosophila melanogaster abl and the murine v-abl genes encode tyrosine protein kinases (TPKs) whose amino acid sequences are highly conserved. To assess functional conservation between the two gene products, we constructed Drosophila abl/v-abl-chimeric Abelson murine leukemia viruses. In these chimeric Abelson murine leukemia viruses, the TPK and carboxy-terminal regions of v-abl were replaced with the corresponding regions of D. melanogaster abl. The chimeric Abelson murine leukemia viruses were able to mediate morphological and oncogenic transformation of NIH 3T3 cells and were able to abrogate the interleukin-3 dependence of a lymphoid cell line. We also found that a virus that contained both TPK and carboxy-terminal Drosophila abl regions had no in vitro transforming activity for primary bone marrow cells and lacked the ability to induce tumors in susceptible mice. A virus that replaced only a portion of the v-abl TPK region with that of Drosophila abl had low activity in in vitro bone marrow transformation and tumorigenesis assays. These results indicate that the transforming functions of abl TPKs are only partially conserved through evolution. These results also imply that the TPK region of v-abl is a major determinant of its efficient lymphoid cell-transforming activity.     

Construction and biological analysis of deletion mutants of Fujinami sarcoma virus: 5''-fps sequence has a role in the transforming activity.

Fujinami sarcoma virus (FSV) genome codes for the gag-fps fusion protein FSV-P130. The amino acid sequence of the 3' one-third portion in v-fps is partially homologous to the 3' half of pp60src, or the kinase domain, but the sequence of the 5' portion is unique to v-fps. To identify a possible domain structure in the v-fps sequence responsible for cell transformation, we constructed various deletion mutants of FSV with molecularly cloned viral DNA. Their transforming activities were assayed by measuring focus formation on chicken embryo fibroblasts and rat 3Y1 cells and tumor formation in chickens. The mutants carrying a deletion at the 3' portion in v-fps, the kinase domain, lost transforming activity. The mutants carrying an approximately 1-kilobase deletion within the 5' portion of the v-fps sequence retained focus-forming activity and tumorigenicity in the chicken system, but the efficiency of focus formation was about 10 times lower than that of the wild type. The morphology of these transformed cells was distinct from that observed in cells infected with wild-type FSV. Furthermore, these mutants could not transform rat 3Y1 cells, although wild-type FSV DNA transformed rat 3Y1 cells at a high frequency. The mutants carrying a larger deletion in the 5' portion of fps completely lacked the transforming activity. These results suggest that the 3' portion of the v-fps sequence is necessary but not sufficient for cell transformation and that the 5' portion of v-fps has a role in the transforming activity.     

Altered protein kinase activities of lymphoid cells transformed by Abelson and Moloney leukemia viruses

Five different types of protein kinase activities have been evaluated in cell lines from murine lymphomas induced by Abelson leukemia virus (A-MuLV), whose oncogene codes for a tyrosine protein kinase. Such activities were compared with those of normal cells and of cells transformed by Moloney leukemia virus (M-MuLV), lacking oncogene sequences in its genome. While cAMP-dependent protein kinase and casein kinase-1 do not undergo significant changes, casein kinase-2 rises in both A-MuLV and M-MuLV infected lymphocytes, becoming largely associated with the particulate fraction of transformed cells. Protein kinase-C on the other hand is unchanged in M-MuLV transformed cells but it undergoes a 2-3-fold increment in both soluble and particulate fractions of A-MuLV transformed lymphocytes, which also display high tyrosine protein kinase activity.