SIGNALING OF PROGRAMMED CELL-DEATH INDUCTION IN WEHI-231 B-LYMPHOMA-CELLS

The murine WEHI-231 B lymphoma is highly sensitive to membrane immunog lobulin ligation which leads to programmed cell death (PCD) in this ce ll line. To study the molecular pathways involved in PCD induction in these cells,we derived two variants of WEHI-231 resistant to anti-Ig t reatment. The level of bcl-2 mRNA was identical in the wild type and t he variants, either untreated or anti-Ig treated, suggesting that PCD is not under the control of bcl-2 in WEHI-231 cells. In contrast, c-my c gene expression was markedly different in the wild type and the vari ants, both in the unstimulated and anti-Ig-stimulated state. Our findi ngs are interpreted in the context of the dual capacity of c-myc to pr omote cell growth or cell death, in conjunction with other growth regu latory signals.