title: Function of the c-Myc oncoprotein.
abstract: The c-Myc protein, the product of the c-myc proto-oncogene, is a nuclear phosphoprotein with DNA binding properties. Deregulated c-myc expression participates in the development of experimentally induced tumors, and its expression appears to be abnormal in many naturally occurring malignancies. Although the precise molecular mechanism of c-Myc activity in oncogenesis and in normal cell proliferation is unknown, recent advances have uncovered a series of molecular and cellular properties of c-Myc. These properties include nuclear localization, transcriptional activation, oligomerization nonspecific and specific DNA binding. Recently, the c-Myc protein was found to heterodimerize with Max, a protein that cooperates with c-Myc to bind specifically to a core DNA sequence, CAC(G/A)TG. These characteristics suggest that c-Myc participates in the regulation of gene transcription in normal and neoplastic cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: C V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Dang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D010641:Phenotype; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc