C-MYC: evidence for multiple regulatory functions

The nuclear c-myc proto-oncogene promotes cell proliferation and can inhibit terminal differentiation as well as induce immortalisation in its oncogenic form. There is increasing evidence that c-myc exerts these biological activities by modulating transcription and by directly affecting the initiation of DNA replication. The regulation of these disparate activities may involve the carboxyl end of the c-myc protein, which is essential for transformation and autosuppression of c-myc transcription. Conserved motifs in this region of the c-myc protein may mediate complex formation and sequence-specific nucleic acid binding.