The murine WEHI-231 B lymphoma is highly sensitive to membrane immunoglobulin ligation which leads to programmed cell death (PCD) in this cell line. To study the molecular pathways involved in PCD induction in these cells, we derived two variants of WEHI-231 resistant to anti-Ig treatment. The level of bcl-2 mRNA was identical in the wild type and the variants, either untreated or anti-Ig treated, suggesting that PCD is not under the control of bcl-2 in WEHI-231 cells. In contrast, c-myc gene expression was markedly different in the wild type and the variants, both in the unstimulated and anti-Ig-stimulated state. Our findings are interpreted in the context of the dual capacity of c-myc to promote cell growth or cell death, in conjunction with other growth regulatory signals.