Comparative analysis of the structure and function of the chicken c-myc and v-myc genes: v-myc is a more potent inducer of cell proliferation and apoptosis than c-myc

• Published in: Oncogene Vol. 12; no. 12; p. 2611
• Main Authors: Petropoulos, C J, Givol, I, Hughes, S H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 20.06.1996
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Apoptosis - genetics; Base Sequence; Cell Cycle - genetics; Cell Division - genetics; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; Chick Embryo; Chickens - genetics; Fibroblasts - physiology; Fibroblasts - virology; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Genes, myc; Genetic Vectors - genetics; Molecular Sequence Data; Oncogene Protein p55(v-myc) - biosynthesis; Oncogene Protein p55(v-myc) - genetics; Protein Biosynthesis; Retroviridae - genetics; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; Transcription, Genetic
• ISSN: 0950-9232

To gain a more complete understanding of c-myc regulation in chickens, we have completed the structural characterization of the chicken c-myc gene and have begun to investigate c-myc transcription and protein expression. A comparison of c-myc structure and expression between mammals and birds presents an enigma: there are striking similarities in the pattern of gene expression in the absence of obvious sequence similarities in the controlling elements. We have begun to investigate c-myc and v-myc function using retroviral vectors that differ solely in the Myc proteins that they express. We show that while the overexpression of the smaller c-Myc protein is sufficient to induce morphological transformation in chicken embryo fibroblasts, overexpression of v-Myc provides a stronger signal for cells to enter the cell cycle and is a more potent inducer of apoptosis than c-Myc.