MYC Analysis in Cancer and Evolution.

The MYC oncogene was originally identified as a transduced allele (v-myc) in the genome of the highly oncogenic avian retrovirus MC29. The protein product (MYC) of the cellular MYC (c-myc) protooncogene represents the key component of a transcription factor network controlling the expression of a large fraction of all human genes. MYC regulates fundamental cellular processes like growth control, metabolism, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Mutational deregulation of MYC, leading to increased levels of the MYC protein, is a frequent event in the etiology of human cancers. In this chapter, we describe cell systems and experimental strategies to quantify the oncogenic potential of MYC alleles, to test MYC inhibitors, and to monitor MYC-specific protein-protein interactions that are relevant for the cell transformation process. We also describe experimental procedures to study the evolutionary origin of MYC and to analyze structure, function, and regulation of the ancestral MYC proto-oncogenes.