Demystifying the Druggability of the MYC Family of Oncogenes

The MYC family of oncogenes (MYC, MYCN, and MYCL) encodes a basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper (bHLHLZ) transcriptional regulator that is responsible for moving the cell through the restriction point. Through the HLHZIP domain, MYC heterodimerizes with the bHLHLZ protein MAX, which enables this MYC-MAX complex to bind to E-box regulatory DNA elements thereby controlling transcription of a large group of genes and their proteins. Translationally, MYC is one of the foremost oncogenic targets, and deregulation of expression of the MYC family gene/proteins occurs in over half of all human tumors and is recognized as a hallmark of cancer initiation and maintenance. Additionally, unexpected roles for this oncoprotein have been found in cancers that nominally have a non-MYC etiology. Although MYC is rarely mutated, its gain of function in cancer results from overexpression or from amplification. Moreover, MYC is a pleiotropic transcription factor possessing broad pathogenic prominence making it a coveted cancer target. A widely held notion within the biomedical research community is that the reliable modulation of MYC represents a tremendous therapeutic opportunity given its role in directly potentiating oncogenesis. However, the MYC-MAX heterodimer interaction contains a large surface area with a lack of well-defined binding sites creating the perception that targeting of MYC-MAX is forbidding. Here, we discuss the biochemistry behind MYC and MYC-MAX as it relates to cancer progression associated with these transcription factors. We also discuss the notion that MYC should no longer be regarded as undruggable, providing examples that a therapeutic window is achievable despite global MYC inhibition.