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Direct activation of RNA polymerase III transcription by c-Myc

Nature volume 421, pages 290–294 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

The proto-oncogene product c-Myc has a direct role in both metazoan cell growth and division1,2,3,4. RNA polymerase III (pol III) is involved in the generation of transfer RNA and 5S ribosomal RNA, and these molecules must be produced in bulk to meet the need for protein synthesis in growing cells5. We demonstrate here that c-Myc binds to TFIIIB, a pol III-specific general transcription factor, and directly activates pol III transcription. Chromatin immunoprecipitation reveals that endogenous c-Myc is present at tRNA and 5S rRNA genes in cultured mammalian cells. These results suggest that activation of pol III may have a role in the ability of c-Myc to stimulate cell growth.

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Figure 1: Pol III-transcribed genes respond to c-Myc in vivo.
Figure 2: Pol III activation by c-Myc does not require pocket proteins or induction of TFIIIC2 or BN51.
Figure 3: Activation of pol III transcription by c-Myc does not depend on induction of pol II transcription.
Figure 4: ChIP assays show that c-Myc interacts with tRNA, 5S rRNA and B2 genes in vivo.
Figure 5: TFIIIB interacts with the N-terminal domain of c-Myc.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Ngouenet and Z. Felton-Edkins for technical assistance, and R. Reeder, S. Cowley and C. Yost for critique of this manuscript. This work was funded by grants from CONACYT-Mexico (N.G.), the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute (C.G. and R.N.E.), and from Cancer Research UK (R.J.W.).

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  1. Natividad Gomez-Roman, Carla Grandori and Robert N. Eisenman: These authors contributed equally to this work

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Glasgow, UK

    Natividad Gomez-Roman & Robert J. White

  2. Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, 98109-1024, USA

    Carla Grandori & Robert N. Eisenman

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  1. Natividad Gomez-Roman
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  2. Carla Grandori
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Correspondence to Robert N. Eisenman or Robert J. White.

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Gomez-Roman, N., Grandori, C., Eisenman, R. et al. Direct activation of RNA polymerase III transcription by c-Myc. Nature 421, 290–294 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01327

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