Gallant Peter
Zoologisches Institut, Universitaet Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Cancer Res. 2005 Aug 1;65(15):6485-7. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-05-1101.
The proto-oncogene Myc is already known to affect many cellular processes, but recent experiments in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster have revealed yet a new facet of Myc. Neighboring cells were shown to compare their Myc levels and the losers (cells with lower Myc activity) were actively eliminated. This phenomenon is called "cell competition," and it seems to be part of a developmental size and quality control program. Subversion of this mechanism may contribute to the transforming powers of Myc and possibly other oncogenes.
原癌基因Myc已知会影响许多细胞过程，但最近在果蝇黑腹果蝇身上进行的实验揭示了Myc的一个新方面。研究表明，相邻细胞会比较它们的Myc水平，而“失败者”（Myc活性较低的细胞）会被主动清除。这种现象被称为“细胞竞争”，它似乎是发育大小和质量控制程序的一部分。这种机制的颠覆可能有助于Myc以及其他可能的癌基因的转化能力。
