Skip to main content
PMC home page
The EMBO Journal logoLink to The EMBO Journal
. 1991 Dec;10(12):3703–3712. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb04938.x

The N-Myc oncoprotein is associated in vivo with the phosphoprotein Max(p20/22) in human neuroblastoma cells.

A Wenzel 1, C Cziepluch 1, U Hamann 1, J Schürmann 1, M Schwab 1
PMCID: PMC453104  PMID: 1935896

Abstract

Proteins encoded by the proto-oncogenes c-myc, L-myc, and N-myc contain at their carboxy-terminus a tripartite segment comprising a basic DNA binding region (BR), a helix-loop-helix (HLH) and a leucine zipper motif (Zip), that are believed to be involved in DNA binding and protein-protein interaction. The N-Myc oncoprotein is overexpressed in certain human tumors that share neuroectodermal features due to amplification of the N-myc gene. Using a monoclonal antibody directed against an N-terminal epitope of the N-Myc protein in immunoprecipitations performed with extracts of neuroblastoma cells, two nuclear phosphoprotein, p20/22, forming a hetero-oligomeric complex with N-Myc are identified. Both proteins are phosphorylated by casein kinase II in vitro. By partial proteolytic maps we show that p20 and p22 are structurally related to each other and that p20 is identical with Max, a recently described in vitro binding partner of myc proteins. Time course experiments show the presence of the complex in cellular extracts immunoprecipitated within a 5 min interval after the preparation of the cell extract. While the expression of N-myc is restricted, expression of both Max(p20/22) and the murine homolog Myn(p20/22) was observed in cells of diverse human and murine embryonal lineages as detected by heterologous complex formation. By introduction of expression vectors containing the wild type N-myc gene or N-myc genes with in frame deletions or point mutations into recipient cells and subsequent immunoprecipitation of the resulting N-Myc proteins we show that the HLH-Zip region is essential to the formation of the N-Myc-p20/22 complex.

Full text

PDF
3710

Images in this article

3704Image
on p.3704
3705Image
on p.3705
3706Image
on p.3706
3706Image
on p.3706
3707Image
on p.3707
3708Image
on p.3708
3709Image
on p.3709

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Angel P., Allegretto E. A., Okino S. T., Hattori K., Boyle W. J., Hunter T., Karin M. Oncogene jun encodes a sequence-specific trans-activator similar to AP-1. Nature. 1988 Mar 10;332(6160):166–171. doi: 10.1038/332166a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bishop J. M. Molecular themes in oncogenesis. Cell. 1991 Jan 25;64(2):235–248. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90636-d. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Blackwell T. K., Weintraub H. Differences and similarities in DNA-binding preferences of MyoD and E2A protein complexes revealed by binding site selection. Science. 1990 Nov 23;250(4984):1104–1110. doi: 10.1126/science.2174572. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Blackwood E. M., Eisenman R. N. Max: a helix-loop-helix zipper protein that forms a sequence-specific DNA-binding complex with Myc. Science. 1991 Mar 8;251(4998):1211–1217. doi: 10.1126/science.2006410. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bohmann D., Bos T. J., Admon A., Nishimura T., Vogt P. K., Tjian R. Human proto-oncogene c-jun encodes a DNA binding protein with structural and functional properties of transcription factor AP-1. Science. 1987 Dec 4;238(4832):1386–1392. doi: 10.1126/science.2825349. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Bohmann D. Transcription factor phosphorylation: a link between signal transduction and the regulation of gene expression. Cancer Cells. 1990 Nov;2(11):337–344. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Bonner W. M., Laskey R. A. A film detection method for tritium-labelled proteins and nucleic acids in polyacrylamide gels. Eur J Biochem. 1974 Jul 1;46(1):83–88. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1974.tb03599.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Breit S., Schwab M. Suppression of MYC by high expression of NMYC in human neuroblastoma cells. J Neurosci Res. 1989 Sep;24(1):21–28. doi: 10.1002/jnr.490240105. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Cantley L. C., Auger K. R., Carpenter C., Duckworth B., Graziani A., Kapeller R., Soltoff S. Oncogenes and signal transduction. Cell. 1991 Jan 25;64(2):281–302. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90639-g. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Chen-Wu J. L., Padmanabha R., Glover C. V. Isolation, sequencing, and disruption of the CKA1 gene encoding the alpha subunit of yeast casein kinase II. Mol Cell Biol. 1988 Nov;8(11):4981–4990. doi: 10.1128/mcb.8.11.4981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Cleveland D. W., Fischer S. G., Kirschner M. W., Laemmli U. K. Peptide mapping by limited proteolysis in sodium dodecyl sulfate and analysis by gel electrophoresis. J Biol Chem. 1977 Feb 10;252(3):1102–1106. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Cole M. D. Myc meets its Max. Cell. 1991 May 31;65(5):715–716. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90377-b. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Dang C. V., Lee W. M. Nuclear and nucleolar targeting sequences of c-erb-A, c-myb, N-myc, p53, HSP70, and HIV tat proteins. J Biol Chem. 1989 Oct 25;264(30):18019–18023. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. DeCaprio J. A., Ludlow J. W., Figge J., Shew J. Y., Huang C. M., Lee W. H., Marsilio E., Paucha E., Livingston D. M. SV40 large tumor antigen forms a specific complex with the product of the retinoblastoma susceptibility gene. Cell. 1988 Jul 15;54(2):275–283. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(88)90559-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Deuschle U., Pepperkok R., Wang F. B., Giordano T. J., McAllister W. T., Ansorge W., Bujard H. Regulated expression of foreign genes in mammalian cells under the control of coliphage T3 RNA polymerase and lac repressor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Jul;86(14):5400–5404. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.14.5400. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Dyson N., Buchkovich K., Whyte P., Harlow E. The cellular 107K protein that binds to adenovirus E1A also associates with the large T antigens of SV40 and JC virus. Cell. 1989 Jul 28;58(2):249–255. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90839-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Edelman A. M., Blumenthal D. K., Krebs E. G. Protein serine/threonine kinases. Annu Rev Biochem. 1987;56:567–613. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.56.070187.003031. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Evan G. I. A simple and rapid solid phase enzyme-linked immunoadsorbence assay for screening monoclonal antibodies to poorly soluble proteins. J Immunol Methods. 1984 Oct 26;73(2):427–435. doi: 10.1016/0022-1759(84)90417-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Fourel G., Trepo C., Bougueleret L., Henglein B., Ponzetto A., Tiollais P., Buendia M. A. Frequent activation of N-myc genes by hepadnavirus insertion in woodchuck liver tumours. Nature. 1990 Sep 20;347(6290):294–298. doi: 10.1038/347294a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Garson J. A., McIntyre P. G., Kemshead J. T. N-myc amplification in malignant astrocytoma. Lancet. 1985 Sep 28;2(8457):718–719. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(85)92950-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Gillespie D. A., Eisenman R. N. Detection of a Myc-associated protein by chemical cross-linking. Mol Cell Biol. 1989 Feb;9(2):865–868. doi: 10.1128/mcb.9.2.865. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Graham F. L., Smiley J., Russell W. C., Nairn R. Characteristics of a human cell line transformed by DNA from human adenovirus type 5. J Gen Virol. 1977 Jul;36(1):59–74. doi: 10.1099/0022-1317-36-1-59. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Hunter T., Cooper J. A. Protein-tyrosine kinases. Annu Rev Biochem. 1985;54:897–930. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.54.070185.004341. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Johnson P. F., McKnight S. L. Eukaryotic transcriptional regulatory proteins. Annu Rev Biochem. 1989;58:799–839. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.58.070189.004055. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Jones N. Transcriptional regulation by dimerization: two sides to an incestuous relationship. Cell. 1990 Apr 6;61(1):9–11. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90207-u. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Kohl N. E., Kanda N., Schreck R. R., Bruns G., Latt S. A., Gilbert F., Alt F. W. Transposition and amplification of oncogene-related sequences in human neuroblastomas. Cell. 1983 Dec;35(2 Pt 1):359–367. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90169-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Kouzarides T., Ziff E. The role of the leucine zipper in the fos-jun interaction. Nature. 1988 Dec 15;336(6200):646–651. doi: 10.1038/336646a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Köhler G., Milstein C. Continuous cultures of fused cells secreting antibody of predefined specificity. Nature. 1975 Aug 7;256(5517):495–497. doi: 10.1038/256495a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Laemmli U. K. Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature. 1970 Aug 15;227(5259):680–685. doi: 10.1038/227680a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Landschulz W. H., Johnson P. F., McKnight S. L. The leucine zipper: a hypothetical structure common to a new class of DNA binding proteins. Science. 1988 Jun 24;240(4860):1759–1764. doi: 10.1126/science.3289117. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Lee W. H., Murphree A. L., Benedict W. F. Expression and amplification of the N-myc gene in primary retinoblastoma. 1984 May 31-Jun 6Nature. 309(5967):458–460. doi: 10.1038/309458a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Lee W. H., Shew J. Y., Hong F. D., Sery T. W., Donoso L. A., Young L. J., Bookstein R., Lee E. Y. The retinoblastoma susceptibility gene encodes a nuclear phosphoprotein associated with DNA binding activity. Nature. 1987 Oct 15;329(6140):642–645. doi: 10.1038/329642a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Lüscher B., Christenson E., Litchfield D. W., Krebs E. G., Eisenman R. N. Myb DNA binding inhibited by phosphorylation at a site deleted during oncogenic activation. Nature. 1990 Apr 5;344(6266):517–522. doi: 10.1038/344517a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Lüscher B., Eisenman R. N. New light on Myc and Myb. Part I. Myc. Genes Dev. 1990 Dec;4(12A):2025–2035. doi: 10.1101/gad.4.12a.2025. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Lüscher B., Kuenzel E. A., Krebs E. G., Eisenman R. N. Myc oncoproteins are phosphorylated by casein kinase II. EMBO J. 1989 Apr;8(4):1111–1119. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb03481.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Mitchell P. J., Tjian R. Transcriptional regulation in mammalian cells by sequence-specific DNA binding proteins. Science. 1989 Jul 28;245(4916):371–378. doi: 10.1126/science.2667136. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Murre C., McCaw P. S., Baltimore D. A new DNA binding and dimerization motif in immunoglobulin enhancer binding, daughterless, MyoD, and myc proteins. Cell. 1989 Mar 10;56(5):777–783. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90682-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Murre C., McCaw P. S., Vaessin H., Caudy M., Jan L. Y., Jan Y. N., Cabrera C. V., Buskin J. N., Hauschka S. D., Lassar A. B. Interactions between heterologous helix-loop-helix proteins generate complexes that bind specifically to a common DNA sequence. Cell. 1989 Aug 11;58(3):537–544. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90434-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Mäkelä T. P., Saksela K., Alitalo K. Two N-myc polypeptides with distinct amino termini encoded by the second and third exons of the gene. Mol Cell Biol. 1989 Apr;9(4):1545–1552. doi: 10.1128/mcb.9.4.1545. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Nakajima H., Ikeda M., Tsuchida N., Nishimura S., Taya Y. Inactivation of the N-myc gene product by single amino acid substitution of leucine residues located in the leucine-zipper region. Oncogene. 1989 Aug;4(8):999–1002. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Nau M. M., Brooks B. J., Jr, Carney D. N., Gazdar A. F., Battey J. F., Sausville E. A., Minna J. D. Human small-cell lung cancers show amplification and expression of the N-myc gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1986 Feb;83(4):1092–1096. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.4.1092. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. O'Shea E. K., Rutkowski R., Kim P. S. Evidence that the leucine zipper is a coiled coil. Science. 1989 Jan 27;243(4890):538–542. doi: 10.1126/science.2911757. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Prendergast G. C., Lawe D., Ziff E. B. Association of Myn, the murine homolog of max, with c-Myc stimulates methylation-sensitive DNA binding and ras cotransformation. Cell. 1991 May 3;65(3):395–407. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90457-a. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Ramsay G., Stanton L., Schwab M., Bishop J. M. Human proto-oncogene N-myc encodes nuclear proteins that bind DNA. Mol Cell Biol. 1986 Dec;6(12):4450–4457. doi: 10.1128/mcb.6.12.4450. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Rüther U., Müller-Hill B. Easy identification of cDNA clones. EMBO J. 1983;2(10):1791–1794. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1983.tb01659.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Schwab M., Alitalo K., Klempnauer K. H., Varmus H. E., Bishop J. M., Gilbert F., Brodeur G., Goldstein M., Trent J. Amplified DNA with limited homology to myc cellular oncogene is shared by human neuroblastoma cell lines and a neuroblastoma tumour. Nature. 1983 Sep 15;305(5931):245–248. doi: 10.1038/305245a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Schwab M., Ellison J., Busch M., Rosenau W., Varmus H. E., Bishop J. M. Enhanced expression of the human gene N-myc consequent to amplification of DNA may contribute to malignant progression of neuroblastoma. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1984 Aug;81(15):4940–4944. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.15.4940. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Schwab M. Oncogene amplification in neoplastic development and progression of human cancers. Crit Rev Oncog. 1990;2(1):35–51. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Schwab M., Varmus H. E., Bishop J. M. Human N-myc gene contributes to neoplastic transformation of mammalian cells in culture. Nature. 1985 Jul 11;316(6024):160–162. doi: 10.1038/316160a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Schweigerer L., Breit S., Wenzel A., Tsunamoto K., Ludwig R., Schwab M. Augmented MYCN expression advances the malignant phenotype of human neuroblastoma cells: evidence for induction of autocrine growth factor activity. Cancer Res. 1990 Jul 15;50(14):4411–4416. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Stanton L. W., Schwab M., Bishop J. M. Nucleotide sequence of the human N-myc gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1986 Mar;83(6):1772–1776. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.6.1772. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Tapscott S. J., Davis R. L., Thayer M. J., Cheng P. F., Weintraub H., Lassar A. B. MyoD1: a nuclear phosphoprotein requiring a Myc homology region to convert fibroblasts to myoblasts. Science. 1988 Oct 21;242(4877):405–411. doi: 10.1126/science.3175662. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. Ueno K., Katoh K., Kondoh H. Subnuclear localization and antitransforming activity of N-myc:beta-galactosidase fusion proteins. Mol Cell Biol. 1988 Oct;8(10):4529–4532. doi: 10.1128/mcb.8.10.4529. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  54. Vinson C. R., Sigler P. B., McKnight S. L. Scissors-grip model for DNA recognition by a family of leucine zipper proteins. Science. 1989 Nov 17;246(4932):911–916. doi: 10.1126/science.2683088. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  55. Wigler M., Silverstein S., Lee L. S., Pellicer A., Cheng Y. c., Axel R. Transfer of purified herpes virus thymidine kinase gene to cultured mouse cells. Cell. 1977 May;11(1):223–232. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(77)90333-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  56. van Lohuizen M., Breuer M., Berns A. N-myc is frequently activated by proviral insertion in MuLV-induced T cell lymphomas. EMBO J. 1989 Jan;8(1):133–136. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb03357.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The EMBO Journal are provided here courtesy of Nature Publishing Group

RESOURCES