Role of RNA structures in c-myc and c-fos gene regulations.

Proto-oncogenes c-myc and c-fos are subjected to a complex set of controls operating both at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. We report here that: (i) antisense transcription occurs at the murine c-myc locus. However, its biological significance remains to be established; (ii) transcription of both genes is regulated in various situations by a block to elongation of nascent RNA chains. In the case of c-myc, the blockade involves a RNA structure whose nature remains unknown; (iii) elements responsible for the high degree of instability of c-myc and c-fos mRNAs reside in their 3' non-coding regions. A U-rich region, reminiscent of that present in the granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor mRNA destabilizer, is likely to be involved in the rapid degradation of c-fos mRNA; (iv) exon 1 substitution by intron 1-derived sequences lessens or negates the effect of the 3' destabilizer in abnormal c-myc RNAs from Burkitt's lymphomas and mouse plasmacytomas.