The Fbw7 tumor suppressor regulates glycogen synthase kinase 3 phosphorylation-dependent c-Myc protein degradation

M Welcker, A Orian, J Jin, JA Grim… - Proceedings of the …, 2004 - National Acad Sciences
M Welcker, A Orian, J Jin, JA Grim, JW Harper, RN Eisenman, BE Clurman
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2004National Acad Sciences
Myc proteins regulate cell growth and division and are implicated in a wide range of human
cancers. We show here that Fbw7, a component of the SCFFbw7 ubiquitin ligase and a
tumor suppressor, promotes proteasome-dependent c-Myc turnover in vivo and c-Myc
ubiquitination in vitro. Phosphorylation of c-Myc on threonine-58 (T58) by glycogen synthase
kinase 3 regulates the binding of Fbw7 to c-Myc as well as Fbw7-mediated c-Myc
degradation and ubiquitination. T58 is the most frequent site of c-myc mutations in …
Myc proteins regulate cell growth and division and are implicated in a wide range of human cancers. We show here that Fbw7, a component of the SCFFbw7 ubiquitin ligase and a tumor suppressor, promotes proteasome-dependent c-Myc turnover in vivo and c-Myc ubiquitination in vitro. Phosphorylation of c-Myc on threonine-58 (T58) by glycogen synthase kinase 3 regulates the binding of Fbw7 to c-Myc as well as Fbw7-mediated c-Myc degradation and ubiquitination. T58 is the most frequent site of c-myc mutations in lymphoma cells, and our findings suggest that c-Myc activation is one of the key oncogenic consequences of Fbw7 loss in cancer. Because Fbw7 mediates the degradation of cyclin E, Notch, and c-Jun, as well as c-Myc, the loss of Fbw7 is likely to elicit profound effects on cell proliferation during tumorigenesis.
National Acad Sciences