Induction of apoptosis by the c-Myc helix-loop-helix/leucine zipper domain in mouse 3T3-L1 fibroblasts.

The cellular proto-oncogene c-myc is involved in cell proliferation and transformation but is also implicated in the induction of programmed cell death (apoptosis). The c-Myc protein is a transcriptional activator with a carboxyl-terminal basic region/helix-loop-helix (HLH)/leucine zipper (LZ) domain. It forms heterodimers with the HLH/LZ protein Max and transactivates gene expression after binding DNA E-box elements. We have studied the phenotype of dominant-negative mutants of c-Myc and Max in microinjection experiments. Max mutants with a deleted or mutated basic region inhibited DNA synthesis in serum-stimulated 3T3-L1 mouse fibroblasts. In contrast, mutants of c-Myc expressing only the basic region/HLH/LZ or HLH/LZ domains rapidly induced apoptosis at low and high serum levels. Co-expression of the HLH/LZ domains of c-Myc and Max failed to do so. We suggest that the c-Myc HLH/LZ domain induces apoptosis by specific interaction with cellular factors different to Max.