Regulation of ferritin synthesis in malignant and non-malignant lymphoid cells.

The different amounts of H-rich and L-rich isoferritins found in malignant and non malignant lymphoid cells are accompanied by proportional variations in the relative quantity of messenger RNAs for the H and L subunits of ferritin. The correlation between levels of messenger RNAs and proteins suggests that the amount of messenger RNA plays an important role in ferritin biosynthesis in these cells. The enhanced expression of ferritin messenger RNAs in some neoplastic cells is not caused by gross alterations in the structure of ferritin genes.