c-myc Gene expression in human cells is controlled by glucose

The c-myc oncogene is implicated in normal growth and differentiation processes. Human cell lines IM9 and HepG2 stably cultured at "low" glucose concentrations (5.5 mM) show c-myc mRNA levels 3-4 times higher than cells cultured at "high" glucose concentrations (25 mM). D-fructose (a metabolizable exose) substitutes for D-glucose in reducing c-myc expression while 3-ortho-methylglucose (a non metabolizable exose) is uneffective. c-myc expression is up-regulated (by PMA) or down-regulated (by dexamethasone and long-term exposure to FCS) in human cells cultured at "low" glucose but not in cells cultured at "high" glucose. We previously demonstrated that insulin receptor gene expression in human cell lines is enhanced by glucose. Therefore, glucose controls in an opposite way the expression of two genes important in the regulation of eukaryotic cell growth and differentiation.