c-myc oncoprotein function.
Genetic alterations of the c-myc locus in various malignancies and the ability of c-myc to transform cultured cells and induce tumors in transgenic animals attest to its central role in many neoplasms. By dissecting the c-Myc protein, a number of critical functional domains of c-Myc have been identified and characterized; these findings suggest a model for c-Myc function and intracellular activity (Fig. 4). c-Myc is synthesized in the cytoplasm and undergoes oligomerization another protein such as Max. Its nuclear localization signal allows c-Myc to be targeted to and retained in the nucleus, where the protein seeks out and binds to specific DNA sites, perhaps facilitated by c-Myc's ability to bind non-specifically to DNA. Once bound to specific DNA sequences, c-Myc then activates or inhibits transcription of a number of target genes, with consequent alterations in cell growth and differentiation. Continued studies of c-Myc and its partner Max should further elucidate the mechanisms by which c-Myc can contribute both to the regulation of normal cell growth and the alteration in that regulation in neoplasia.
Dang
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Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000502:physiology; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D016350:Leucine Zippers / Q000502:physiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc