MAX dimerization protein belongs to a subfamily of MAX-interacting proteins. This protein competes with MYC for binding to MAX to form a sequence-specific DNA-binding complex, acting as a transcriptional repressor (while MYC appears to function as an activator) and is a candidate tumor suppressor. Both Myc and Mad, as well as the more recently described Mnt and Mga proteins, form heterodimers with Max, permitting binding to specific DNA sequences. These DNA-bound heterodimers recruit coactivator or corepressor complexes th at generate alterations in chromatin structure, which in turn modulate transcription. The wild-type c-Myc and c-Myc/MadBR proteins have indistinguishable biological activity and target gene recognition in vivo.
