Research Perspective Volume 2, Issue 4 pp 244—250

Figure 2. Speculative model illustrating regulation of senescence vs stemness and self-renewal by Myc and Cdk2. While Myc is a suppressor of senescence together with Cdk2, it stimulates stemness, self-renewal and immortalization, thereby potentially favor tissue regeneration. This is accomplished by activation of hTERT and Bmi1, and repression of p21 and p16, key genes also implicated in regulating aging. The trade off for this capacity is increased risk for cancer development.