[Transcription of antisense RNA for the human c-myc gene].

Antisense RNA transcription of human c-myc gene has been examined in HeLa, Burkitt lymphoma BL-60 t(8;22) cells, and diploid fibroblasts. By means of the primer extension technique two startpoints of antisense transcription have been detected and mapped with the first (untranslated) exon of the c-myc gene. Similarity between the antisense nucleotide sequence of the first c-myc intron and the SV40 DNA fragment containing the binding sites for transcriptions factors GT-I, GT-II, TC-I, and TC-II has been revealed by computer analysis. It has been established that the DNA fragment of the first c-myc intron is able to form complexes with proteins from the HeLa cell extract. Three nucleotide sequences (TTTCTG, TTTTTA, and TGACTTGTC) are involved in the reactions. These data imply that the c-myc antisense transcripts might take part in the regulation of human c-myc gene expression.