Expression of the N-ras oncogene under the control of the glucocorticoid-responsive promoter in the pheochromocytoma cell line UR61, a subline of PC-12 cells, has been used to investigate the differentiation process to neuronal cells triggered by ras oncogenes (I. Guerrero, A. Pellicer, and D. E. Burstein, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 150:1185-1192, 1988). Using ras-inducible cell lines, we observed that expression of the oncogenic N-ras p21 protein interferes with the ability of phorbol esters to induce downregulation of protein kinase C. This effect was associated with the appearance of immunologically detectable protein kinase C as well as the activity of the enzyme as analyzed either by binding of [3H]phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate in intact cells or by in vitro kinase activity. These results indicate a relationship between ras p21 and protein kinase C in neuronal differentiation in this model system. Comparison to the murine fibroblast system suggests that this relationship may be functional.

Lacal, J. C., Cuadrado, A., Jones, J. E., Trotta, R., Burstein, D. E., Thomson, T., & Pellicer, A. (1990). Regulation of protein kinase C activity in neuronal differentiation induced by the N-ras oncogene in PC-12 cells. Molecular and Cellular Biology, 10(6), 2983–2990.