Myc or no Myc, that is the question

The transcription factor c-MYC functions as the master transcription factor for establishing highly active metabolic states in proliferating cells. c-Myc is essential for rapid proliferation of normal cells and has causal relationship with many cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma. While the expression of c-MYC can be aberrantly driven by genetic abnormalities, such as chromosomal translocations directly involving the MYC locus or mutations of its upstream regulators, how c-MYC expression is induced and amplified in normal lymphocytes in response to antigen stimulation remains elusive. In this issue of The EMBO Journal, Preston et al (2015) report how c-MYC is selectively induced and amplified in the antigen-specific T cells that undergo massive clonal expansion for host protection against pathogen infection.