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Functional interplay between c‐Myc and Max in B lymphocyte differentiation
Author(s) -
PérezOlivares Mercedes,
Trento Alfonsina,
RodriguezAcebes Sara,
GonzálezAcosta Daniel,
FernándezAntorán David,
RománGarcía Sara,
Martinez Dolores,
LópezBriones Tania,
Torroja Carlos,
Carrasco Yolanda R,
Méndez Juan,
Moreno de Alborán Ignacio
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
embo reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.584
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1469-3178
pISSN - 1469-221X
DOI - 10.15252/embr.201845770
Subject(s) - biology , lymphocyte , genetics , lymphocyte subsets , computational biology , microbiology and biotechnology , immune system , cd8
The Myc family of oncogenic transcription factors regulates myriad cellular functions. Myc proteins contain a basic region/helix‐loop‐helix/leucine zipper domain that mediates DNA binding and heterodimerization with its partner Max. Among the Myc proteins, c‐Myc is the most widely expressed and relevant in primary B lymphocytes. There is evidence suggesting that c‐Myc can perform some of its functions in the absence of Max in different cellular contexts. However, the functional in vivo interplay between c‐Myc and Max during B lymphocyte differentiation is not well understood. Using in vivo and ex vivo models, we show that while c‐Myc requires Max in primary B lymphocytes, several key biological processes, such as cell differentiation and DNA replication, can initially progress without the formation of c‐Myc/Max heterodimers. We also describe that B lymphocytes lacking Myc, Max, or both show upregulation of signaling pathways associated with the B‐cell receptor. These data suggest that c‐Myc/Max heterodimers are not essential for the initiation of a subset of important biological processes in B lymphocytes, but are required for fine‐tuning the initial response after activation.