NFAT-induced histone acetylation relay switch promotes c-Myc-dependent growth in pancreatic cancer cells.

Background & Aims: Induction of immediate early transcription factors (ITF) represents the first transcriptional program controlling mitogen-stimulated cell cycle progression in cancer. Here, we examined the transcriptional mechanisms regulating the ITF protein c-Myc and its role in pancreatic cancer growth in vitro and in vivo.

Methods: Expression of ITF proteins was examined by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting, and its implications in cell cycle progression and growth was determined by flow cytometry and [(3)H]-thymidine incorporation.