The great MYC escape in tumorigenesis

Cancer Cell. 2005 Sep;8(3):177-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ccr.2005.08.005.

Abstract

Increased wild-type MYC expression occurs frequently in human cancers, except in Burkitt's lymphoma, where the translocated MYC allele is frequently mutated at several hotspots, including a major one at threonine-58. Acute MYC expression increases p53 or ARF levels and induces apoptosis, and previous transgenic animal studies revealed frequent inactivating mutations of p53 or p19ARF in transgenic Myc-induced lymphomas. Lowe and coworkers (Hemann et al., 2005) demonstrate that wild-type MYC can also trigger apoptosis by inducing Bim, which neutralizes Bcl-2. In contrast, the MYC point mutants failed to induce Bim, promoting murine lymphomas that escaped both wild-type p53 and p19ARF, and in doing so, evaded apoptosis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis
  • Burkitt Lymphoma / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Genes, myc*
  • Humans
  • Lymphoma / genetics
  • Lymphoma / pathology
  • Models, Biological
  • Mutation
  • Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Neoplasms / pathology