Mar. 25, 2009 The gene Myc is an important factor for the growth
of organisms by cell division. It causes the production of a
protein which, as a transcription factor, controls the
expression of up to 15 % of all human genes. When this gene
mutates to an oncogene, the cell proliferates excessively and
apoptosis is inhibited. Thereby the gene plays a decisive role
in the development of many tumors. he problem is that
pharmacological substances do not target Myc as it does not have
enzymatic activity of its own. Thus, scientists worldwide are
trying to find alternative ways to inhibit this oncogene. A team
of scientists led by Klaus Bister and Markus Hartl of the
Institute of Biochemistry and the Centre for Molecular
Biosciences of the University of Innsbruck may have made an
important step towards achieving this goal. Suppressing
pathological cell growth For the first time, the scientists have
shown that Myc suppresses the expression of the gene BASP1. This
evidence prompted them to test the effect of BASP1 on