Isolation and analysis of cellular DNA fragments directly binding to c-Myc protein.

c-Myc protein, the product of cellular oncogene c-myc, is thought to play an important role in the control of cell cycle progression by binding to the E-box sequence (CACGTG) of cellular DNA, but only a few target genes are known. We cloned two small human DNA fragments (n16 and r37) that bound to c-Myc protein in vitro by random screening. Both clones contained the E-box sequence, to which c-Myc protein bound directly in vitro. Northern blot analysis showed that a low molecular-weight RNA was transcribed from the region near the n16 c-Myc binding site. The function of this low molecular-weight RNA and the regulatory role of c-Myc protein in related transcription are now under investigation.