Editor's Summary

26 July 2007

Another side to c-Myc

First identified as a proto-oncogene and active in many human tumours, c-Myc is also a transcription factor essential for normal cell growth and proliferation. Its ability to influence gene expression had been thought to be the means by which it promotes tumour development. But the discovery that c-Myc also influences DNA replication directly suggests another explanation for some of its actions. By localizing to the sites of DNA synthesis and binding to the pre-replicative complex, c-Myc can control DNA replication: when disregulated, the same mechanism might cause DNA damage and inappropriate cell proliferation.

Article: Non-transcriptional control of DNA replication by c-Myc

David Dominguez-Sola, Carol Y. Ying, Carla Grandori, Luca Ruggiero, Brenden Chen, Muyang Li, Denise A. Galloway, Wei Gu, Jean Gautier & Riccardo Dalla-Favera

doi:10.1038/nature05953

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (991K) | Supplementary information