A new mechanism of oncogenic activation: E26 retroviral v-ets oncogene has inverted the C-terminal end of the transcription factor c-ets-1.

The v-ets-encoded domain in the P135gag-myb-ets transforming protein of the E26 retrovirus differs mainly from its cellular progenitor, p68c-ets-1 by two point mutations and by the replacement of the 13 last C-terminal amino acids present in c-ets-1 by 16 unrelated residues of previously unknown origin in v-ets. Here, we demonstrate that these v-ets C-terminal specific residues are in fact encoded by the opposite strand of the c-ets-1 C-terminus.