The c-fgr proto-oncogene: expression in Epstein-Barr-virus-infected B lymphocytes and in cells of the myelomonocytic and granulocytic lineages.

The c-fgr proto-oncogene, which is a member of the c-src gene family, encodes the cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase p55c-fgr. Expression of the c-fgr gene is activated in human B lymphocytes following infection with Epstein-Barr virus, and the viral protein EBNA-2 is involved in mediating this effect. The only normal cells in which the c-fgr gene is known to be expressed are peripheral-blood granulocytes and monocytes, and tissue macrophages. In accordance with this, levels of c-fgr mRNA increase when the human promonocytic cell line U937 and the human myelomonocytic cell line HL60 are induced to differentiate. The enzyme activity and the expression pattern of p55c-fgr suggest that it is involved in regulating the responses of terminally differentiated granulocytes and monocytes to external stimuli, perhaps by controlling changes in cytoskeletal structure.