Abstract
APOPTOSIS is a form of physiological cell death, characterized by chromatin condensation, cytoplasmic blebbing and DNA fragmentation1, which often depends on RNA and protein synthesis by the dying cell2–4. The c-myc proto-oncogene, usually implicated in cell transformation, differentiation and cell-cycle progression5–9 also has a central role in some forms of apoptosis10–13. These opposing roles of myc in cell growth and death require that other gene products dictate the outcome of c-Myc expression on a cell. A candidate for such a modifying gene is bcl-2, whose product prolongs cell survival14–16 and blocks apoptosis in some systems17–21. Here we demonstrate that Bcl-2 prevents apoptotic death induced by c-Myc, provide a mechanism whereby cells can express c-Myc without undergoing apoptosis, and give a possible explanation for the ability of Bcl-2 to synergize with c-Myc in cell transformation21–23.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Wyllie, A. H., Kerr, J. F. R. & Currie, A. R. Int. Rev. Cytol. 68, 251–306 (1980).
Cohen, J. J. & Duke, R. C. J. Immun. 132, 38–42 (1984).
Wyllie, A. H., Morris, R. G., Smith, A. L. & Dunlop, D. J. Path. 142, 67–77 (1984).
Duke, R. C. & Cohen, J. J. Lymphokine Res. 5, 289–299 (1986).
Cole, M. D. A. Rev. Genet. 20, 361–384 (1986).
Luscher, B. & Eisenman, R. N. Genes Dev. 4, 2025–2035 (1990).
Prochownik, E. V., Kukowska, J. & Rodgers, C. Molec. cell. Biol. 8, 3683–3695 (1988).
Onclerq, R., Babinet, C. & Cremis, C. Oncogene Res. 4, 293–302 (1989).
Kaczmarek, L., Hyland, J. K., Watt, R., Rosenberg, M. & Baserga, R. Science 228, 1313–1315 (1985).
Wyllie, A. H. et al. Br. J. Cancer 56, 251–259 (1987).
Askew, D. S., Ashmun, R. A., Simmons, B. C. & Cleveland, J. L. Oncogene 6, 1915–1922 (1991).
Evan, G. I. et al. Cell 69, 119–128 (1992).
Shi, Y. et al. Science 257, 212–214 (1992).
McDonnell, T. J. et al. Cell 57, 79–88 (1989).
Nunez, G., Hockenbery, D., McDonnell, T. J., Sorensen, C. M. & Korsmeyer, S. J. Nature 353, 71–73 (1991).
Strasser, A. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88, 8661–8665 (1991).
Hockenberry, D., Nunez, G., Milliman, C., Schreiber, R. D. & Korsmeyer, S. J. Nature 348, 334–336 (1990).
Nunez, G. et al. J. Immun. 144, 3602–3610 (1990).
Sentman, C. L., Shutter, J. R., Hockenberry, D., Kanagawa, O. & Korsmeyer, S. J. Cell 67, 879–888 (1991).
Henderson, S. et al. Cell 65, 1107–1115 (1991).
Vaux, D. L., Cory, S. & Adams, J. M. Nature 335, 440–442 (1988).
Reed, J. C. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87, 3660–3664 (1990).
Strasser, A., Harris, A. W., Bath, M. L. & Cory, S. Nature 348, 331–333 (1990).
Wurm, F. M., Gwinn, K. A. & Kingston, R. E. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83, 5414–5418 (1986).
Pallavicini, M. G., Rosette, C., Reitsma, M., Deteresa, P. S. & Gray, J. W. J. cell. Physiol. 143, 372–380 (1990).
Bukh, A., Martinez-Valdez, H., Freedman, S. J., Freedman, M. H. & Cohen, A. J. Immun. 144, 4835–4840 (1990).
Vogt, M. et al. Oncogene Res. 2, 49–63 (1987).
Williams, G. T. Cell 65, 1097–1098 (1991).
Degols, G., Leonetti, J.-P., Mechti, N. & Lebleu, B. Nucleic Acids Res. 19, 945–948 (1991).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bissonnette, R., Echeverri, F., Mahboubi, A. et al. Apoptotic cell death induced by c-myc is inhibited by bcl-2. Nature 359, 552–554 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/359552a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/359552a0
This article is cited by
-
Polysaccharides from Lentinus edodes prevent acquired drug resistance to docetaxel in prostate cancer cells by decreasing the TGF-β1 secretion of cancer-associated fibroblasts
Journal of Natural Medicines (2023)
-
MYCN mediates TFRC-dependent ferroptosis and reveals vulnerabilities in neuroblastoma
Cell Death & Disease (2021)
-
Differential gene expression in liver of colored broiler chicken divergently selected for residual feed intake
Tropical Animal Health and Production (2021)
-
Gene expression signatures of site-specificity in cancer metastases
Clinical & Experimental Metastasis (2020)
-
BCL-2 family isoforms in apoptosis and cancer
Cell Death & Disease (2019)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.