TERMINAL DIFFERENTIATION IN A NON-SMALL-CELL BRONCHOPULMONARY CARCINOMA CORRELATES WITH INCREASED EXPRESSION OF P53

We studied the pharmacomodulating effects of a marine substance, bistr amide D, which is capable of inducing terminal differentiation on the expression of the c-erb-B1, ras, src, myc and p53 genes in the NSCLC-N 6 cell line established from a non-small cell lung carcinoma. Analysis (subsequent to treatment) demonstrated that among the genes for which it was possible to detect expression, namely c-erb-B1, c-myc and p53, only the expression of the p53 gene varied significantly. The increas e of the expression rate of the p53 gene underlines its prominent role in the control of cell proliferation and differentiation.