Department of Pathology and Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0502, USA.
Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2010 Feb;20(1):91-5. doi: 10.1016/j.gde.2009.11.001. Epub 2009 Dec 3.
The basic helix-loop-helix protein Myc is a renowned transcription factor controlling disparate aspects of cell physiology that, together, allow efficient proliferation of somatic cells. This ability, together with the observation that its deregulated expression occurs in the majority of human cancers, suggests that Myc could be a good therapeutic target. However, several aspects of Myc biology remain elusive: what is the major difference between oncogenic and physiological Myc? How does oncogenic Myc evade the intrinsic tumor surveillance pathways provided by evolution? If Myc inhibition were even possible, what would be the consequences for the homeostasis of normal proliferating tissues versus the fate of cancer cells? Here we summarize the latest works addressing these issues.
碱性螺旋-环-螺旋蛋白 Myc 是一种众所周知的转录因子,可控制细胞生理学的不同方面,这些方面共同使体细胞的有效增殖成为可能。这种能力,以及观察到其失调表达发生在大多数人类癌症中的事实,表明 Myc 可能是一个很好的治疗靶点。然而,Myc 生物学的几个方面仍然难以捉摸:致癌和生理 Myc 之间的主要区别是什么?致癌 Myc 如何逃避进化提供的内在肿瘤监测途径?如果 Myc 抑制甚至成为可能,对正常增殖组织的动态平衡和癌细胞的命运会有什么影响?在这里,我们总结了最新的研究成果,以解决这些问题。