The murine ST2 gene, which encodes a protein remarkably similar to the extracellular portion of murine interleukin 1 receptor types 1 and 2, is expressed in growth-stimulated BALB/c-3T3 cells in the presence of 50 μg/ml of cycloheximide. The treatment with 1,000 U/ml of purified native murine β-interferon superinduced, rather than suppressed, the ST2 mRNA expression as in the cases or c-myc and JE mRNAs. These results suggested that the murine ST2 gene belongs to the family of primary response genes induced by growth factors. Furthermore, a longer ST2-related mRNA was found in BALB/c-3T3 cells that were stimulated to proliferate in the presence of cycloheximide.
