v-Myb of E26 leukemia virus up-regulates bcl-2 and suppresses apoptosis in myeloid cells

Many oncogenes have been shown to be deregulated transcription factors, yet direct target genes mediating cell transformation remain elusive. Here we describe such a target for v-Myb by exploiting a temperature-sensitive mutant of the E26 avian leukemia virus encoding Myb-Ets. Myeloblasts transformed by the mutant differentiate into macrophages or die by apoptosis when shifted to the nonpermissive temperature as a result of inactivation of v-Myb. During this process mRNA of the antiapoptotic oncoprotein Bcl-2 is down-regulated with kinetics similar to those of Mim-1, a differentiation-related protein whose expression is directly regulated by Myb. Forced expression of bcl-2 rescues the cells from apoptosis, without preventing either their withdrawal from the cell cycle or their differentiation. v-Myb appears to act directly on the bcl-2 gene, because a bcl-2 promoter-driven reporter is activated by Myb-Ets and v-Myb-VP16 and requires intact Myb binding sites within the promoter. Surprisingly, inactivation of v-Myb in multipotent progenitors transformed by E26 virus does not induce apoptosis, indicating that bcl-2 regulation by the oncoprotein is required for the transformation of some cell types but not others.