c-myb down-regulation is associated with human colon cell differentiation, apoptosis, and decreased Bcl-2 expression

Abstract

c-myb is expressed in human and murine colonic mucosa and elevated expression occurs in premalignant adenomatous polyps and carcinomas. c-Myb is required for colon cell proliferation, and there is evidence of c-myb down- regulation during differentiation. Recently, c-myb has been implicated in hematopoietic cell survival via regulation of bcl-2 gene expression. However, c-myb expression during terminal differentiation and apoptosis in the colonic crypt has not been examined. The experiments in this study examine the spatial and temporal expression of c-Myb protein in vivo using human colonic crypt sections and in vitro in human colon tumor cell lines undergoing butyrate-induced differentiati..