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Gene regulation

Fine-tuned amplification in cells

Nature volume 511, pages 417–418 (2014)Cite this article

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The transcription factor Myc has been posited to cause a cell-wide increase in gene expression. But two studies show that Myc, when modulated by other transcription factors, can amplify select targets. See Letters p.483 and p.488

The Myc protein can both stimulate and repress RNA synthesis; however, the means by which it exerts these opposing effects are unclear. This gap in our knowledge is of interest to many researchers, because Myc gene expression is itself strictly regulated during normal cellular proliferation, but often deregulated in human cancers. Moreover, deregulated Myc expression can initiate cancer in mice1, suggesting that the way in which Myc regulates gene expression in healthy cells must be different from how it does so in cancer. Two papers2,3 in this issue provide insights into Myc's differing roles in normal and cancerous cells and show that, contrary to recent hypotheses, Myc can selectively regulate gene expression.

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Figure 1: Models of Myc function.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chi V. Dang is at the Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.,

    Chi V. Dang

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  1. Chi V. Dang
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Correspondence to Chi V. Dang.

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Dang, C. Fine-tuned amplification in cells. Nature 511, 417–418 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13518

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