Many proto-oncogenes participate in the regulation of apoptosis and closely intertwined with their actions are various growth factors and other genes that participate in the control of cellular growth. The proto-oncogene c-Myc encodes a transcription fact ...or that plays a critical role in multiple cellular processes including cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Expression of c-Myc is rapidly induced by mitogens and is down regulated during differentiation. c-Myc activity is sufficient to drive cells into the cell cycle in the absence of growth factors but also induces apoptosis when survival factors are missing. Deregulated expression of c-Myc is associated with a wide array of human cancers. Thr-58 is a major phosphorylation site in c-Myc and is a mutational hotspot in Burkitt's and other aggressive human lymphomas. The quantity of c-Myc is carefully controlled by many mechanisms, and it exerts its oncogenic effects through regulation of genes involved with growth and proliferation.
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