Tumor-promoting phorbol ester and activated Ha-ras synergistically reduce the interleukin 3 requirement in a mast cell line.

Infection of the bone marrow-derived mast cell line PB-3c with a retrovirus carrying oncogenic c-Ha-ras or v-Ha-ras reduced the interleukin 3 (IL-3) growth requirement and induced a state of tumorigenicity. In contrast, normal c-Ha-ras had no effect on the IL-3 requirement of this cell line nor did the cells become tumorigenic. A factor reduction similar to that caused by activated Ha-ras was transiently obtained with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate in the PB-3c cells expressing normal c-Ha-ras. The analogous stimulation of protein kinase C (PKC) in PB-3c cells producing oncogenic Ha-ras led to an additional reduction of the IL-3 requirement during the first 24 h. In the absence of IL-3, the prolonged exposure of the cells to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate for 72 h resulted in a stimulation of growth when activated but not when normal Ha-ras was expressed. PB-3c cell lines expressing activated Ha-ras neither revealed differences in the amounts nor in the subcellular distribution of PKC activity but displayed elevated levels of immunoreactive beta-PKC compared to the parental PB-3c cells. Upon 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate treatment, a protracted down-regulation of the immunodetectable alpha-PKC as well as constitutively high levels of c-fos mRNA were observed when oncogenic Ha-ras was expressed. These data suggest the involvement of specific PKC subtypes and of c-fos in the reduction of the IL-3 requirement caused by activated Ha-ras in this particular hematopoietic cell line.