title: Human proto-oncogene N-myc encodes nuclear proteins that bind DNA.
abstract: N-myc is a gene whose amplification has been implicated in the genesis of several malignant human tumors. We have identified two proteins with molecular weights of 65,000 and 67,000 encoded by N-myc. The abundance of these proteins in tumor cells was consonant with the extent of amplification of N-myc. The two proteins apparently arose from the same mRNA, were phosphorylated, were exceptionally unstable, were located in the nucleus of cells, and bound to both single- and double-stranded DNA. These properties suggest that the products of N-myc and of the related proto-oncogene c-myc may have similar biochemical functions and that N-myc may be a regulatory gene. Our findings sustain the view that inordinate expression of N-myc may contribute to the genesis of several different human tumors.
mesh_terms: D001079:Apudoma; D002460:Cell Line; D002482:Cellulose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D002846:Chromatography, Affinity; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms; D004247:DNA / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005796:Genes; D006367:HeLa Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009447:Neuroblastoma; D009698:Nucleoproteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D011519:Proto-Oncogenes
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C033190:DNA-cellulose; C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D009698:Nucleoproteins; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D002482:Cellulose; D004247:DNA