Differential effects of Mxi1-SRalpha and Mxi1-SRbeta in Myc antagonism.

Mxi1 belongs to the Myc-Max-Mad transcription factor network. Two Mxi1 protein isoforms, Mxi1-SRalpha and Mxi1-SRbeta, have been described as sharing many biological properties. Here, we assign differential functions to these isoforms with respect to two distinct levels of Myc antagonism. Unlike Mxi1-SRbeta, Mxi1-SRalpha is not a potent suppressor of the cellular transformation activity of Myc. Furthermore, although Mxi1-SRbeta exhibits a repressive effect on the MYC promoter in transient expression assays, Mxi1-SRalpha activates this promoter. A specific domain of Mxi1-SRalpha contributes to these differences. Moreover, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase interacts with Mxi1-SRalpha and enhances its ability to activate the Myc promoter. Our findings suggest that Mxi1 gains functional complexity by encoding isoforms with shared and distinct activities.