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The Myc Gene pp 201–212Cite as

Investigating Myc-Dependent Translational Regulation in Normal and Cancer Cells

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1012))

Abstract

There is an increasing realization that a primary role for Myc in driving cellular growth and cell cycle progression relies on Myc’s ability to increase the rate of protein synthesis. Myc induces myriad changes in both global and specific mRNA translation. Herein, we present three assays that allow researchers to measure changes in protein synthesis at the global level as well as alterations in the translation of specific mRNAs. Metabolic labeling of cells with 35S-containing methionine and cysteine is presented as a method to measure the overall rate of global protein synthesis. The bicistronic reporter assay is employed to determine levels of cap-dependent and cap-independent translation initiation in the cell. Finally, isolation of polysome-associated mRNAs followed by next-generation sequencing, microarray or quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis is utilized to detect changes in the abundance of specific mRNAs that are regulated upon Myc hyperactivation. The protocols described in this chapter can be used to understand how and to what extent Myc-dependent regulation of translation influences normal cellular functions as well as tumorigenesis.

John T. Cunningham, Michael Pourdehnad, and Craig R. Stumpf have contributed equally.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank members of the Ruggero lab for their input and comments on this manuscript. Thank you to Kimhouy Tong for editing the manuscript. This work is supported by ACS #121364-PF-11-184-01-TBG (J.T.C.), NIH/NRSA F32CA162634 (C.R.S.), and NIH R01CA140456 (D.R.). D.R. is a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Scholar.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    John T. Cunningham, Craig R. Stumpf & Davide Ruggero

  2. Department of Urology, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    John T. Cunningham, Craig R. Stumpf & Davide Ruggero

  3. Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Michael Pourdehnad

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  1. John T. Cunningham
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  2. Michael Pourdehnad
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  4. Davide Ruggero
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fundació Vall d'Hebron Institute of Onco, Barcelona, Spain

    Laura Soucek

  2. Department of Biochemistry Sanger Building, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

    Nicole M. Sodir

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Cunningham, J.T., Pourdehnad, M., Stumpf, C.R., Ruggero, D. (2013). Investigating Myc-Dependent Translational Regulation in Normal and Cancer Cells. In: Soucek, L., Sodir, N. (eds) The Myc Gene. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1012. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-429-6_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-429-6_13

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-62703-428-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-62703-429-6

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