B-Myb represses collagen gene transcription in vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in vitro and in vivo. Here we sought to determine whether elastin is similarly repressed by B-Myb. Levels of tropoelastin mRNA and protein were lower in aortas and isolated SMCs of adult transgenic mice expressing the human B-myb gene, driven by the basal cytomegalovirus promoter, compared with age-matched wild t...

The human c-Myb gene product is a regulator of transcription with intrinsic DNA-binding activity located in two of three aminoterminal repeats R2R3. Three purified recombinant c-Myb proteins, a 42 kD protein corresponding to the amino-terminal half (HM42), and two proteins representing R2R3 or R1R2R3 (HMR23 and HMR123) have been analyzed either as purified proteins or present in bacterial extra...

The c-myc and c-myb proto-oncogenes encode phosphorylated nuclear DNA binding proteins that are likely to be involved in transcriptional regulation. Here we demonstrate that both Myc and Myb proteins are hyperphosphorylated during mitosis. In the case of Myb, hyperphosphorylation is accompanied by the appearance of three M phase-specific tryptic phosphopeptides. At least one of these phosphopep...

The development of blood cells proceeds from pluripotent stem cells through multipotent progenitors into mature elements belonging to at least 8 different lineages. The lineage choice process during which stem cells and progenitors commit to a particular lineage is regulated by a coordinated action of extracellular signals and transcription factors. Molecular mechanisms controlling commitment a...

There are large and growing numbers of molecularly targeted agents under study in oncology. Yet, the nature of the pathways targeted in the cancer clinic should be broadened (1). Success stories include the discoveries of antagonists that affect growth factor receptors and enzymes that are either overexpressed or mutated relative to their normal counterparts. These proteins function as oncogeni...

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), a member of the fibroblast growth factor family, potently induces increased vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation and decreased expression of type I collagen. Recently, our laboratory demonstrated that, in bovine vascular SMCs, expression of B-myb, a member of the myb gene family, is dependent upon cellular growth state and that B-myb decreases a...

Dysregulated expression of basic fibroblast growth factor [fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2)] mediates autocrine growth of melanoma cells. The presence of a consensus Myb binding site in the human FGF-2 promoter prompted us to investigate whether this transcription factor could regulate FGF-2 expression in melanomas. We report that c-MYB mRNA is overexpressed in melanoma cell lines compared to...

Expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs) is controlled by heat shock transcription factors (HSFs). Vertebrates express multiple HSFs whose activities may be regulated by distinct signals. HSF3 is specifically activated in unstressed proliferating cells by direct binding to the c-myb proto-oncogene product (c-Myb), which plays an important role in cellular proliferation. This suggests that the c...

The MYB transcription factor plays critical roles in normal and malignant haematopoiesis. We previously showed that MYB was a direct activator of FLT3 expression within the context of acute myeloid leukaemia. During normal haematopoiesis, increasing levels of FLT3 expression determine a strict hierarchy within the haematopoietic stem and early progenitor compartment, which associates with lymph...

The R2R3-MYB proteins comprise one of the largest families of transcription factors in plants. Although genome-wide analysis of this family has been carried out in some plant species, little is known about R2R3-MYB genes in canola (Brassica napus L.). In this study, we have identified 76 R2R3-MYB genes in the canola genome through mining of expressed sequence tags (ESTs). The cDNA sequences of ...