T cell hybridomas respond to activation signals by undergoing apoptotic cell death, and this is likely to represent comparable events related to tolerance induction in immature and mature T cells in vivo. Previous studies using antisense oligonucleotides implicated the c-Myc protein in the phenomenon of activation-induced apoptosis. This role for c-Myc in apoptosis is now confirmed in studies using a dominant negative form of its heterodimeric binding partner, Max, which we show here inhibits activation-induced apoptosis. Further, coexpression of a reciprocally mutant Myc protein capable of forming functional heterodimers with the mutant Max can compensate for the dominant negative activity and restore activation-induced apoptosis. These results imply that Myc promotes activation-induced apoptosis by obligatory heterodimerization with Max, and therefore, by regulating gene transcription.
Article|
December 01 1994
Functional Myc-Max heterodimer is required for activation-induced apoptosis in T cell hybridomas.
R P Bissonnette,
R P Bissonnette
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, California 92037.
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A McGahon,
A McGahon
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, California 92037.
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A Mahboubi,
A Mahboubi
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, California 92037.
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D R Green
D R Green
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, California 92037.
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R P Bissonnette
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, California 92037.
A McGahon
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, California 92037.
A Mahboubi
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, California 92037.
D R Green
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, California 92037.
Online ISSN: 1540-9538
Print ISSN: 0022-1007
J Exp Med (1994) 180 (6): 2413–2418.
Citation
R P Bissonnette, A McGahon, A Mahboubi, D R Green; Functional Myc-Max heterodimer is required for activation-induced apoptosis in T cell hybridomas.. J Exp Med 1 December 1994; 180 (6): 2413–2418. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.180.6.2413
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