• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.550-556
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• 1995

The c-myc proto-oncogene is Involved In the control of normal cell proliferation and differentiation of many cell lineages. Although it has heen suggested that c-myc may play an important role in the mammalian early development, it Is unclear whether the embryonic c-myc mRNA is originated from zygotic gene expression or stored maternal message. Thus, we have construded expression vectors, In which the 5, flanking sequences including c-myc promoter region and a large non-coding exon I are fused 'sith E. coli lacZ gene that encedes $\beta$-galactosldase as a reporter. As c-myc exon I contains a modulatory sequence, we designed t, vo types of vectors (pcmyc.Gall and pcmyc-Ga12) to examine the role of exon I in c-myc expression. The former contains the complete exon I and the later has a deletion in 40 bp of modulator sequence located In the exon I of c-myc These vectors were microInjected into fertilized one-cell embryos and $\beta$-galactosidase activity was examined by X-gal staining during early embryogenesis. $\beta$-galactosidase activity derived from c-myc promoter was decreased at two-cell stage. The expression level directed by pcmyc- Ga12 was similar to that of pcmyc-Gal1, indicating that the medulatory sequence in exon I may not be Involved at least In the regulation of embryonic c-myc expression. In summary, the present study indicates that the c-myc promoter is functional at the early stage embryo, and the regulation of c-myc expression is under the control of "zygotic" clock of preimplantation mouse embryos.e embryos.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.196-203
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• 1995

The c-myc proto-oncogene, one of the immediately earlY genes, is expressed in various mammalian cell types and heavily involved in the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation. To determine endogeneous expression pattern of c-myc gene in preimpBantation mouse embwos, we employed a reverse transcription coupled to polvrnerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Transcript of c-myc was detected at fertilized embryos as a maternal transcript. At the early two-cell stave, transcript of c-myc gene was hardly detected, bu, appeared at late two-cell embryos as a zygotic transcript. The level of c-myc expresion was increased at later stases and peaked at blastocvst stage. To examine the functional role of promoter region for c-myc gene transcription, we fused the 5'upstream region (1.8 kb) including econ 1 of c-myc genomic DNA with E. coli lacE gene fnamed as pcMYC-laczl. pcMYC-lacZ was microiniected into the pronscleus of mouse one-cell embryovs, and p·salactosidase activity was determined tv histochemical staining with X-gal at different stases. f-galactosidase activity was detected only at blastocyst, but not at the earlier stage embryos. This result indicates that c-myc gene is transcriptionallv active during mouse preimplantation development.

• Molecular Medicine Reports
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.3301-3307
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• 2019

c-Myc is a characteristic oncogene with dual functions in cell proliferation and apoptosis. Since the overexpression of the c-Myc proto-oncogene is a common event in the development and growth of various human types of cancer, the present study investigated whether oncogenic c-Myc can alter natural killer (NK) cell-mediated immunity through the expression of associated genes, using PCR, western blotting and flow cytometry assays. Furthermore, whether c-Myc could influence the expression levels of natural killer group 2 member D (NKG2D) ligands, which are well known NK activation molecules, as well as NK cell-mediated immunity, was investigated. c-Myc was inhibited by 10058-F4 treatment and small interfering RNA transfection. Upregulation of c-Myc was achieved by transfection with a pCMV6-myc vector. The inhibition of c-Myc increased MHC class I polyeptide-related sequence B and UL16 binding protein 1 expressions among NKG2D ligands, and the overexpression of c-Myc suppressed the expression of all NKG2D ligands, except MHC class I polyeptide-related sequence A. Furthermore, the alteration of c-Myc activity altered the susceptibility of K562 cells to NK cells. These results suggested that the overexpression of c-Myc may contribute to the immune escape of cancer cells and cell proliferation. Combined treatment with NK-based cancer immunotherapy and inhibition of c-Myc may achieve improved therapeutic results.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.265-271
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• 2017

In this study, we elucidated the molecular mechanism of silymarin by which silymarin may inhibits cell proliferation in human colorectal cancer cells in order to search the new potential anti-cancer target associated with the cell growth arrest. Silymarin reduced the level of c-Myc protein but not mRNA level indicating that silymarin-mediated downregulation of c-Myc may result from the proteasomal degradation. In the confirmation of silymarin-mediated c-Myc degradation, MG132 as a proteasome inhibitor attenuated c-Myc degradation by silymarin. In addition, silymarin phosphorylated the threonine-58 (Thr58) of c-Myc and the point mutation of Thr58 to alanine blocked its degradation by silymarin, which indicates that Thr58 phosphorylation may be an important modification for silymarin-mediated c-Myc degradation. We observed that the inhibition of ERK1/2, p38 and $GSK3{\beta}$ blocked the Thr58 phosphorylation and subsequent c-Myc degradation by silymarin. Finally, the point mutation of Thr58 to alanine attenuated silymarin-mediated inhibition of the cell growth. The results suggest that silymarin induces the cell growth arrest through c-Myc proteasomal degradation via ERK1/2, p38 and $GSK3{\beta}-dependent$ Thr58 phosphorylation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.105-116
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• 1995

To investigate genomic changes in c-myc gene by a chemical carcinogen, human lymphoblast NC-37 cells were exposed to benzo(a)pyrene(BP) and dimethylbenzanthracene(DMBA), and the c-myc gene expression was evaluated by Northern and Southern blot hybridization techniques. The results are as follows: When the genomic DNA of NC-37 cells exposed to several concentrations(1.25, 2.5 and 5ug/ml) of BP concentration. However, the c-myc gene was most significantly enhanced with 2.5ug/ml of BP. The expressions of c-myc gene in NC-37 cells was stimulated by BP and DMBA. Addition of TPA reduced the gene expression BP-treated cells, whereas it enhanced the gene expression in DMBA-treated cells. The expression of c-H-ras gene was slightly increased by treatment with BP and DMBA alone and in combination with TPA, however the magnitude of increase was not significantly different between each other. The expressions of c-myc c-H-ras genes in Burkitt's lymphoma cells were greater than those in NC-37 cells. When the DNA extracted from NC-37 cells exposed to various concentrations of BP were amplified by polymerase chain reaction using a primer set containing c-myc exon I, the amplified products were of the same size in all groups. To evaluate the BP toxicity in E.coli to which human c-myc gene-cloned pBR322 vector was inserted, Southern blot hybridization was conducted on c-myc genes digested with EcoRI/HindIII and Smal/Xbal restriction enzymes, and observing that in 2 ug/ml BP-treated cells a 3.5kb fragment was generated in addition to 1.3kb fragment which can be observed in normal cells. Direct nucleotide sequence analysis of polymerase chain reaction products showed a mutation of G$\longrightarrow$A transition at the Smal recognition site.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.157-166
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• 2005

The c-myc proto-oncogene encodes a nuclear protein that is deregulated and/or mutated in most human cancers. Acting primarily as an activator and sometimes as a repressor, MYC protein controls the synthesis of up to 10-15% of genes. The key MYC targets contributing to oncogenesis are incompletely enumerated and it is not known whether pathology arises from the expression of physiologic targets at abnormal levels or from the pathologic response of new target genes that are not normally regulated by MYC. Regardless of which, available evidence indicates that the level of MYC expression is an important determinant of MYC biology. The c-myc promoter has architectural and functional features that contribute to uniform expression and help to prevent or mitigate conditions that might otherwise create noisy expression. Those features include the use of an expanded proximal promoter, the averaging of input from dozens of transcription factors, and real-time feedback using the supercoil-deformable Far UpStream Element (FUSE) as physical sensor of ongoing transcriptional activity, and the FUSE binding protein (FBP) as well as the FBP interacting repressor (FIR) as effectors to enforce normal transcription from the c-myc promoter.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.67-76
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• 1997

The occurrence of multidrug resistance (MDR) is one of the main obstacles in the successful chemotherapeutic treatment of cancer. In this study The gene expressions of multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP), c-myc and c-fos were investigated in L1210 cells. Adriamycin- or vincristine-resistant L1210 cells, L1210AdR or L1210VcR, respectively, has been identified to overexpression of mdr1 gene. The expression leve of MRP gene in L1210AdR and L1210Cis was more decreased than that in L1210 cells. The c-myc and c-fos genes were expressed both in L1210 and resistant sublines. In L1210AdR, the expressions level of c-myc and c-fos genes were decreased than in L1210. However, in L1210VcR and L1210Cis, c-myc and c-fosgene expressionwere rather increased than L1210. These results suggested that MRP does not contribute in resistance of drug-resistant L1210 cells and there is no relations between MRP and mdr1 gene expression. The expression of c-myc and c-fos gene may be changed during transformation of L1210 to drug-resistant sublines.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.621-629
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• 2000

Camptothecin (CPT) is an antitumor alkaloid that has been isolated from the Chinese tree, Camptotheca acuminata. The cytotoxicity of CPT has been correlated to its inhibition of DNA topoisomerase (Topo) I by stabilizing drug-enzyme-DNA “cleavable complex" resulting in DNA single-strand breaks and DNA-protein crosslinks. This studies were designed to elucidate whether CPT regulates Topo I mediated by CPT in DNAs containing c-myc protooncogene. We have conducted experiments on Topo I purification, pUC-MYC I cloning and Topo I assay using electrophoresis, quantitative RT-PCR and Northern blotting techniques. CPT ingibited the relaxation activity of Topo I in pUC19 DNA at various concentrations (1-1000 $\mu$M), while it enhanced the cleavage of Topo I in the pUC-MYC I by forming a cleavable complex at relatively high concentrations (100-1000 $\mu$M). In HL-60 cells treated with CPT, the expression of c-myc gene was decreased over that in the control group with no changes in the expression of Topo I mRNA. Our results suggest that Topo I is the target of CPT cytotoxicity but it does not affect Topo I extression, and the suppression of c-myc mRNA expression by CPT is due to c-myc damage resulted from formation of a cleavable complex with CPT. CPT.

• Oncology Letters
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.3589-3598
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• 2019

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a complex disease involving numerous genetic abnormalities. One of the major characteristics of CRC is enhanced Wnt signaling caused by loss-of-function mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene. Previously, it has been demonstrated that the majority of malignant phenotypes following APC deletion in adult murine small intestines could be rescued when Myc, a downstream target of the Wnt pathway, was deleted. This indicated that Myc is a critical regulator of CRC development following APC loss. Previous studies reported that cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) can influence the AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) survival pathway in cancer and Myc is a critical downstream molecule of AKT/mTOR signaling. Phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D), a member of the cAMP-specific PDE4 family, has been associated with drug resistance in CRC. However, the association between PDE4D and Myc remains unclear. To investigate the potential role of PDE4D in Myc regulation in CRC, the present study evaluated the expression levels of PDE4 subtypes in DLD-1 CRC cells. Additionally, the effects of PDE4 inhibitors on Myc expression and oncogenic properties were analyzed by western blot analysis, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, colony formation and soft agar assays. It was demonstrated that cAMP/PDE4D signals serve a critical role in regulating Myc expression in DLD-1 CRC cells. Furthermore, PDE4D was identified to be a main hydrolyzer of cAMP and suppression of PDE4D using selective inhibitors of PDE4 increased intracellular cAMP levels, which resulted in a marked decrease in the oncogenic properties of DLD-1 cells, including colony formation, cell proliferation and anchorage-independent growth. Notably, the current data imply that cAMP represses Myc expression via the downregulation of AKT/mTOR signaling, which was abolished by high PDE4D activities in DLD-1 cells. Additionally, a natural polyphenol resveratrol in combination with forskolin elevated the concentration of cAMP and enhanced the expression of Myc and the malignant phenotype of DLD-1 cells, reproducing the effect of known chemical inhibitors of PDE4. In conclusion, the present study identified that cAMP/PDE4D signaling is a critical regulator of Myc expression in DLD-1 and possibly other CRC cells.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.1 no.6
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• pp.691-697
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• 1997

The mechanisms underlying opiate tolerance and dependence are not fully understood. We used human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells as a model system for studying effects of morphine tolerance and withdrawal on c-myc induction and cAMP levels. It has been reported that regulation of c-fos by acute and chronic morphine withdrawal is mediated through alterations in CREB transcription factor. In this study, we examined the effects of morphine tolerance on c-myc expression and cAMP concentrations. The activation of opiate receptors by an acute morphine administration resulted in an increase in c-myc mRNA and a decrease in cAMP concentrations in a dose-dependent manner $(5,\;10,\;15,\;and\;20\;{\mu}M)$. On the other hand, the chronic treatment of morphine $(10\;{\mu}M\;for\;six\;days)$ did not induce the elevated expression of c-myc mRNA. The c-myc expression was slightly inhibited in comparison with that of the acute morphine response. However, cAMP concentrations were increased with regard to morphine withdrawal response. These results suggest that the alterations in c-myc expression might imply a significant opiate regulation relating to morphine tolerance. This observation differs from increased expression of c-fos via regulation of cAMP pathway.