N-myc Interactor (NMI)

NMYC interactor (NMI) encodes a protein that interacts with NMYC and CMYC (two members of the oncogene Myc family), and other transcription factors containing a Zip, HLH, or HLH-Zip motif. The NMI protein also interacts with all STATs except STAT2 and augments STAT-mediated transcription in response to cytokines IL2 and IFN-gamma. The NMI mRNA has low expression levels in all human fetal and adult tissues tested except brain and has high expression in cancer cell line-myeloid leukemias. The carboxyl terminus of NMI is 25% identical to an interferon-induced leucine zipper protein, IFP35, whereas its amino terminus is 22% identical to the coiled-coil heptad repeats of the C. elegans protein CEF59. Coprecipitation studies of NMI with NMYC and MYC confirmed their interaction in mammalian cells.