Work

Novel function of cytoplasmic p53 at the interface between mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum

Year: 2015

Type: other

Abstract: Germline mutations in the gene coding for tumor protein p53 (TP53, best known as p53) are associated with the Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a dominant hereditary disorder characterized by an increased predisposition of patients to the development of various tumors relatively early in life. In addition, TP53 is affected by somatic loss-of-function mutations in a large fraction (>50%, according to current estimates) of human cancers all confounded. 1 Finally, several other molecular defects causally associated with malignant transformation or tumor progression result in the functional inactivation of the p53 system. As a notable example, multiple neoplasms express increased levels of MDM2 proto-oncogene, E3 ubiquitin protein ligase (MDM2), resulting in an accrued degradation of p53 by the proteasome. 2 These observations indicate that the loss of p53 functions favors the establishment and/or progression of various malignancies.

Source: Cell Death and Disease

DOI: 10.1038/cddis.2015.70

Authors: G Kroemer, J M Bravo-San Pedro, L Galluzzi