RESUMO
Downregulation of the urea cycle enzyme argininosuccinate synthase (ASS1) in multiple tumors is associated with a poor prognosis partly because of the metabolic diversion of cytosolic aspartate for pyrimidine synthesis, supporting proliferation and mutagenesis owing to nucleotide imbalance. Here, we find that prolonged loss of ASS1 promotes DNA damage in colon cancer cells and fibroblasts from subjects with citrullinemia type I. Following acute induction of DNA damage with doxorubicin, ASS1 expression is elevated in the cytosol and the nucleus with at least a partial dependency on p53; ASS1 metabolically restrains cell cycle progression in the cytosol by restricting nucleotide synthesis. In the nucleus, ASS1 and ASL generate fumarate for the succination of SMARCC1, destabilizing the chromatin-remodeling complex SMARCC1-SNF5 to decrease gene transcription, specifically in a subset of the p53-regulated cell cycle genes. Thus, following DNA damage, ASS1 is part of the p53 network that pauses cell cycle progression, enabling genome maintenance and survival. Loss of ASS1 contributes to DNA damage and promotes cell cycle progression, likely contributing to cancer mutagenesis and, hence, adaptability potential.
Assuntos
Argininossuccinato Sintase , Núcleo Celular , Citosol , Dano ao DNA , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53 , Humanos , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/metabolismo , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/genética , Citosol/metabolismo , Argininossuccinato Sintase/metabolismo , Argininossuccinato Sintase/genética , Núcleo Celular/metabolismo , Ciclo Celular/genéticaRESUMO
High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) represents the most common and lethal subtype of ovarian cancer. Despite initial response to platinum-based standard therapy, patients commonly suffer from relapse that likely originates from drug-tolerant persister (DTP) cells. We generated isogenic clones of treatment-naïve and cisplatin-tolerant persister HGSOC cells. In addition, single-cell RNA sequencing of barcoded cells was performed in a xenograft model with HGSOC cell lines after platinum-based therapy. Published single-cell RNA-sequencing data from neo-adjuvant and non-treated HGSOC patients and patient data from TCGA were analyzed. DTP-derived cells exhibited morphological alterations and upregulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers. An aggressive subpopulation of DTP-derived cells showed high expression of the stress marker ATF3. Knockdown of ATF3 enhanced the sensitivity of aggressive DTP-derived cells to cisplatin-induced cell death, implying a role for ATF3 stress response in promoting a drug tolerant persister cell state. Furthermore, single cell lineage tracing to detect transcriptional changes in a HGSOC cell line-derived xenograft relapse model showed that cells derived from relapsed solid tumors express increased levels of EMT and multiple endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress markers, including ATF3. Single cell RNA sequencing of epithelial cells from four HGSOC patients also identified a small cell population resembling DTP cells in all samples. Moreover, analysis of TCGA data from 259 HGSOC patients revealed a significant progression-free survival advantage for patients with low expression of the ATF3-associated partial EMT genes. These findings suggest that increased ATF3 expression together with partial EMT promote the development of aggressive DTP, and thereby relapse in HGSOC patients.
Assuntos
Fator 3 Ativador da Transcrição , Cisplatino , Resistencia a Medicamentos Antineoplásicos , Transição Epitelial-Mesenquimal , Neoplasias Ovarianas , Humanos , Fator 3 Ativador da Transcrição/metabolismo , Fator 3 Ativador da Transcrição/genética , Feminino , Cisplatino/farmacologia , Cisplatino/uso terapêutico , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Resistencia a Medicamentos Antineoplásicos/genética , Resistencia a Medicamentos Antineoplásicos/efeitos dos fármacos , Transição Epitelial-Mesenquimal/efeitos dos fármacos , Transição Epitelial-Mesenquimal/genética , Neoplasias Ovarianas/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Ovarianas/genética , Neoplasias Ovarianas/patologia , Neoplasias Ovarianas/metabolismo , Animais , Camundongos , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de Xenoenxerto , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica/efeitos dos fármacosRESUMO
The TP53 gene is mutated in approximately 30% of all breast cancer cases. Adipocytes and preadipocytes, which constitute a substantial fraction of the stroma of normal mammary tissue and breast tumors, undergo transcriptional, metabolic, and phenotypic reprogramming during breast cancer development and play an important role in tumor progression. We report here that p53 loss in breast cancer cells facilitates the reprogramming of preadipocytes, inducing them to acquire a unique transcriptional and metabolic program that combines impaired adipocytic differentiation with augmented cytokine expression. This, in turn, promotes the establishment of an inflammatory tumor microenvironment, including increased abundance of Ly6C+ and Ly6G+ myeloid cells and elevated expression of the immune checkpoint ligand PD-L1. We also describe a potential gain-of-function effect of common p53 missense mutations on the inflammatory reprogramming of preadipocytes. Altogether, our study implicates p53 deregulation in breast cancer cells as a driver of tumor-supportive adipose tissue reprogramming, expanding the network of non-cell autonomous mechanisms whereby p53 dysfunction may promote cancer. Further elucidation of the interplay between p53 and adipocytes within the tumor microenvironment may suggest effective therapeutic targets for the treatment of breast cancer patients.
Assuntos
Neoplasias da Mama , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53 , Humanos , Feminino , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/genética , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/metabolismo , Neoplasias da Mama/patologia , Genes p53 , Tecido Adiposo/metabolismo , Adipócitos/metabolismo , Microambiente Tumoral/genéticaRESUMO
The core Hippo pathway module consists of a tumour-suppressive kinase cascade that inhibits the transcriptional coactivators Yes-associated protein (YAP) and WW domain-containing transcription regulator protein 1 (WWTR1; also known as TAZ). When the Hippo pathway is downregulated, as often occurs in breast cancer, YAP/TAZ activity is induced. To elaborate the roles of TAZ in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), we depleted Taz in murine TNBC 4T1 cells, using either CRISPR/Cas9 or small hairpin RNA (shRNA). TAZ-depleted cells and their controls, harbouring wild-type levels of TAZ, were orthotopically injected into the mammary fat pads of syngeneic BALB/c female mice, and mice were monitored for tumour growth. TAZ depletion resulted in smaller tumours compared to the tumours generated by control cells, in line with the notion that TAZ functions as an oncogene in breast cancer. Tumours, as well as their corresponding in vitro cultured cells, were then subjected to gene expression profiling by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Interestingly, pathway analysis of the RNA-seq data indicated a TAZ-dependent enrichment of 'Inflammatory Response', a pathway correlated with TAZ expression levels also in human breast cancer tumours. Specifically, the RNA-seq analysis predicted a significant depletion of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in TAZ-deficient tumours, which was experimentally validated by the staining of tumour sections and by quantitative cytometry by time of flight (CyTOF). Strikingly, the differences in tumour size were completely abolished in immune-deficient mice, demonstrating that the immune-modulatory capacity of TAZ is critical for its oncogenic activity in this setting. Cytokine array analysis of conditioned medium from cultured cells revealed that TAZ increased the abundance of a small group of cytokines, including plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (Serpin E1; also known as PAI-1), CCN family member 4 (CCN4; also known as WISP-1) and interleukin-23 (IL-23), suggesting a potential mechanistic explanation for its in vivo immunomodulatory effect. Together, our results imply that TAZ functions in a non-cell-autonomous manner to modify the tumour immune microenvironment and dampen the anti-tumour immune response, thereby facilitating tumour growth.
Assuntos
Proteínas com Motivo de Ligação a PDZ com Coativador Transcricional , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas , Animais , Feminino , Humanos , Camundongos , Via de Sinalização Hippo , Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular/genética , Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular/metabolismo , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismo , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas/genética , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas/patologia , Microambiente Tumoral , Proteínas com Motivo de Ligação a PDZ com Coativador Transcricional/metabolismoRESUMO
Breast cancer, the most frequent cancer in women, is generally classified into several distinct histological and molecular subtypes. However, single-cell technologies have revealed remarkable cellular and functional heterogeneity across subtypes and even within individual breast tumors. Much of this heterogeneity is attributable to dynamic alterations in the epigenetic landscape of the cancer cells, which promote phenotypic plasticity. Such plasticity, including transition from luminal to basal-like cell identity, can promote disease aggressiveness. We now report that the tumor suppressor LATS1, whose expression is often downregulated in human breast cancer, helps maintain luminal breast cancer cell identity by reducing the chromatin accessibility of genes that are characteristic of a "basal-like" state, preventing their spurious activation. This is achieved via interaction of LATS1 with the NCOR1 nuclear corepressor and recruitment of HDAC1, driving histone H3K27 deacetylation near NCOR1-repressed "basal-like" genes. Consequently, decreased expression of LATS1 elevates the expression of such genes and facilitates slippage towards a more basal-like phenotypic identity. We propose that by enforcing rigorous silencing of repressed genes, the LATS1-NCOR1 axis maintains luminal cell identity and restricts breast cancer progression.
Assuntos
Neoplasias da Mama , Feminino , Humanos , Neoplasias da Mama/genética , Genes Reguladores , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/genética , Mama , Repressão Psicológica , Correpressor 1 de Receptor Nuclear/genéticaRESUMO
The TP53 gene is mutated in approximately 60% of all colorectal cancer (CRC) cases. Over 20% of all TP53-mutated CRC tumors carry missense mutations at position R175 or R273. Here we report that CRC tumors harboring R273 mutations are more prone to progress to metastatic disease, with decreased survival, than those with R175 mutations. We identify a distinct transcriptional signature orchestrated by p53R273H, implicating activation of oncogenic signaling pathways and predicting worse outcome. These features are shared also with the hotspot mutants p53R248Q and p53R248W. p53R273H selectively promotes rapid CRC cell spreading, migration, invasion and metastasis. The transcriptional output of p53R273H is associated with preferential binding to regulatory elements of R273 signature genes. Thus, different TP53 missense mutations contribute differently to cancer progression. Elucidation of the differential impact of distinct TP53 mutations on disease features may make TP53 mutational information more actionable, holding potential for better precision-based medicine.
Assuntos
Neoplasias Colorretais , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53 , Neoplasias Colorretais/genética , Genes p53 , Humanos , Mutação , Fenótipo , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/genética , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/metabolismoRESUMO
Missense mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor abound in human cancer. Common ("hotspot") mutations endow mutant p53 (mutp53) proteins with oncogenic gain of function (GOF), including enhanced cell migration and invasiveness, favoring cancer progression. GOF is usually attributed to transcriptional effects of mutp53. To elucidate transcription-independent effects of mutp53, we characterized the protein interactome of the p53R273H mutant in cells derived from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), where p53R273H is the most frequent p53 mutant. We now report that p53R273H, but not the p53R175H hotspot mutant, interacts with SQSTM1/p62 and promotes cancer cell migration and invasion in a p62-dependent manner. Mechanistically, the p53R273H-p62 axis drives the proteasomal degradation of several cell junctionassociated proteins, including the gap junction protein Connexin 43, facilitating scattered cell migration. Concordantly, down-regulation of Connexin 43 augments PDAC cell migration, while its forced overexpression blunts the promigratory effect of the p53R273H-p62 axis. These findings define a mechanism of mutp53 GOF.
Assuntos
Movimento Celular , Neoplasias Pancreáticas , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53 , Adesão Celular/genética , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Movimento Celular/genética , Genes p53 , Humanos , Mutação , Neoplasias Pancreáticas/genética , Proteína Sequestossoma-1/genética , Proteína Sequestossoma-1/metabolismo , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/genética , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/metabolismoRESUMO
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The paralogous transcriptional cofactors Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ, also called WWTR1), the main downstream effectors of the Hippo signal transduction pathway, are emerging as pivotal determinants of malignancy in lung cancer. Traditionally, studies have tended to consider YAP and TAZ as functionally redundant transcriptional cofactors with similar biological impact. However, there is growing evidence that each of them also possesses distinct attributes. Here we sought to systematically characterize the division of labor between YAP and TAZ in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common histological subtype of lung cancer. Representative NSCLC cell lines as well as patient-derived data showed that the two paralogs orchestrated nonoverlapping transcriptional programs in this cancer type. YAP preferentially regulated gene sets associated with cell division and cell-cycle progression, whereas TAZ preferentially regulated genes associated with extracellular matrix organization. Depletion of YAP resulted in growth arrest, whereas its overexpression promoted cell proliferation. Likewise, depletion of TAZ compromised cell migration, whereas its overexpression enhanced migration. The differential effects of YAP and TAZ on key cellular processes were also associated with differential response to anticancer therapies. Uncovering the different activities and downstream effects of YAP and TAZ may thus facilitate better stratification of patients with lung cancer for anticancer therapies. SIGNIFICANCE: Thease findings show that oncogenic paralogs YAP and TAZ have distinct roles in NSCLC and are associated with differential response to anticancer drugs, knowledge that may assist lung cancer therapy decisions.
Assuntos
Proteínas Adaptadoras de Transdução de Sinal/metabolismo , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/patologia , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Transativadores/metabolismo , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismo , Proteínas Adaptadoras de Transdução de Sinal/genética , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/tratamento farmacológico , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/metabolismo , Ciclo Celular/fisiologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Movimento Celular , Cromatina/genética , Cromatina/metabolismo , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Pulmonares/metabolismo , Paclitaxel/farmacologia , Transativadores/genética , Fatores de Transcrição/genética , Proteínas com Motivo de Ligação a PDZ com Coativador Transcricional , Proteínas de Sinalização YAPRESUMO
TP53 gene mutations are very common in human cancer. While such mutations abrogate the tumor suppressive activities of the wild-type (wt) p53 protein, some of them also endow the mutant (mut) protein with oncogenic gain of function (GOF), facilitating cancer progression. Yet, p53 may acquire altered functionality even without being mutated; in particular, experiments with cultured cells revealed that wtp53 can be rewired to adopt mut-like features in response to growth factors or cancer-mimicking genetic manipulations. To assess whether such rewiring also occurs in human tumors, we interrogated gene expression profiles and pathway deregulation patterns in the METABRIC breast cancer (BC) dataset as a function of TP53 gene mutation status. Harnessing the power of machine learning, we optimized a gene expression classifier for ER+Her2- patients that distinguishes tumors carrying TP53 mutations from those retaining wt TP53. Interestingly, a small subset of wt TP53 tumors displayed gene expression and pathway deregulation patterns markedly similar to those of TP53-mutated tumors. Moreover, similar to TP53-mutated tumors, these 'pseudomutant' cases displayed a signature for enhanced proliferation and had worse prognosis than typical wtp53 tumors. Notably, these tumors revealed upregulation of genes which, in BC cell lines, were reported to be positively regulated by p53 GOF mutants. Thus, such tumors may benefit from mut p53-associated activities without having to accrue TP53 mutations.
Assuntos
Neoplasias da Mama/genética , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Proteínas Mutantes/genética , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/genética , Feminino , Humanos , Antígeno Ki-67/metabolismo , Proteínas Mutantes/metabolismo , Mutação/genética , Receptor ErbB-2/metabolismo , Receptores de Estrogênio/metabolismoRESUMO
Deregulated activity of LArge Tumor Suppressor (LATS) tumor suppressors has broad implications on cellular and tissue homeostasis. We examined the consequences of down-regulation of either LATS1 or LATS2 in breast cancer. Consistent with their proposed tumor suppressive roles, expression of both paralogs was significantly down-regulated in human breast cancer, and loss of either paralog accelerated mammary tumorigenesis in mice. However, each paralog had a distinct impact on breast cancer. Thus, LATS2 depletion in luminal B tumors resulted in metabolic rewiring, with increased glycolysis and reduced peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) signaling. Furthermore, pharmacological activation of PPARγ elicited LATS2-dependent death in luminal B-derived cells. In contrast, LATS1 depletion augmented cancer cell plasticity, skewing luminal B tumors towards increased expression of basal-like features, in association with increased resistance to hormone therapy. Hence, these two closely related paralogs play distinct roles in protection against breast cancer; tumors with reduced expression of either LATS1 or LATS2 may rewire signaling networks differently and thus respond differently to anticancer treatments.
RESUMO
Tumors accumulate high levels of mutant p53 (mutp53), which contributes to mutp53 gain-of-function properties. The mechanisms that underlie such excessive accumulation are not fully understood. To discover regulators of mutp53 protein accumulation, we performed a large-scale RNA interference screen in a Burkitt lymphoma cell line model. We identified transformation/transcription domain-associated protein (TRRAP), a constituent of several histone acetyltransferase complexes, as a critical positive regulator of both mutp53 and wild-type p53 levels. TRRAP silencing attenuated p53 accumulation in lymphoma and colon cancer models, whereas TRRAP overexpression increased mutp53 levels, suggesting a role for TRRAP across cancer entities and p53 mutations. Through clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 screening, we identified a 109-amino-acid region in the N-terminal HEAT repeat region of TRRAP that was crucial for mutp53 stabilization and cell proliferation. Mass spectrometric analysis of the mutp53 interactome indicated that TRRAP silencing caused degradation of mutp53 via the MDM2-proteasome axis. This suggests that TRRAP is vital for maintaining mutp53 levels by shielding it against the natural p53 degradation machinery. To identify drugs that alleviated p53 accumulation similarly to TRRAP silencing, we performed a small-molecule drug screen and found that inhibition of histone deacetylases (HDACs), specifically HDAC1/2/3, decreased p53 levels to a comparable extent. In summary, here we identify TRRAP as a key regulator of p53 levels and link acetylation-modifying complexes to p53 protein stability. Our findings may provide clues for therapeutic targeting of mutp53 in lymphoma and other cancers.
Assuntos
Proteínas Adaptadoras de Transdução de Sinal/metabolismo , Linfoma/metabolismo , Proteínas Nucleares/metabolismo , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/metabolismo , Acetilação , Proteínas Adaptadoras de Transdução de Sinal/química , Proteínas Adaptadoras de Transdução de Sinal/genética , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Inativação Gênica , Humanos , Linfoma/genética , Mutação , Proteínas Nucleares/química , Proteínas Nucleares/genética , Domínios Proteicos , Estabilidade Proteica , Transporte Proteico , Proteólise , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-mdm2/metabolismo , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/genética , UbiquitinaçãoRESUMO
The three p53 family members, p53, p63 and p73, are structurally similar and share many biochemical activities. Yet, along with their common fundamental role in protecting genomic fidelity, each has acquired distinct functions related to diverse cell autonomous and non-autonomous processes. Similar to the p53 family, the Hippo signaling pathway impacts a multitude of cellular processes, spanning from cell cycle and metabolism to development and tumor suppression. The core Hippo module consists of the tumor-suppressive MST-LATS kinases and oncogenic transcriptional co-effectors YAP and TAZ. A wealth of accumulated data suggests a complex and delicate regulatory network connecting the p53 and Hippo pathways, in a highly context-specific manner. This generates multiple layers of interaction, ranging from interdependent and collaborative signaling to apparent antagonistic activity. Furthermore, genetic and epigenetic alterations can disrupt this homeostatic network, paving the way to genomic instability and cancer. This strengthens the need to better understand the nuances that control the molecular function of each component and the cross-talk between the different components. Here, we review interactions between the p53 and Hippo pathways within a subset of physiological contexts, focusing on normal stem cells and development, as well as regulation of apoptosis, senescence and metabolism in transformed cells.
Assuntos
Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/metabolismo , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismo , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/metabolismo , Animais , Apoptose , Carcinogênese , Senescência Celular , Humanos , Células-Tronco Neoplásicas/metabolismo , Ploidias , Transdução de Sinais , Células-Tronco/metabolismoRESUMO
In this issue of Cancer Cell, Mello et al. investigated how p53 suppresses pancreatic cancer and discovered a key role for the tyrosine phosphatase PTPN14, a p53 transcriptional target. PTPN14 restrains YAP, curbing its potential oncogenic effects. The p53-PTPN14-YAP axis highlights the importance of signaling pathway coordination in cancer prevention.
Assuntos
Neoplasias Pancreáticas , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53 , Via de Sinalização Hippo , Humanos , Oncogenes , Fosfoproteínas/genética , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases , Proteínas Tirosina Fosfatases não Receptoras/genética , Transdução de SinaisRESUMO
Proper cellular functionality and homeostasis are maintained by the convergent integration of various signaling cascades, which enable cells to respond to internal and external changes. The Dbf2-related kinases LATS1 and LATS2 (LATS) have emerged as central regulators of cell fate, by modulating the functions of numerous oncogenic or tumor suppressive effectors, including the canonical Hippo effectors YAP/TAZ, the Aurora mitotic kinase family, estrogen signaling and the tumor suppressive transcription factor p53. While the basic functions of the LATS kinase module are strongly conserved over evolution, the genomic duplication event leading to the emergence of two closely related kinases in higher organisms has increased the complexity of this signaling network. Here, we review the LATS1 and LATS2 intrinsic features as well as their reported cellular activities, emphasizing unique characteristics of each kinase. While differential activities between the two paralogous kinases have been reported, many converge to similar pathways and outcomes. Interestingly, the regulatory networks controlling the mRNA expression pattern of LATS1 and LATS2 differ strongly, and may contribute to the differences in protein binding partners of each kinase and in the subcellular locations in which each kinase exerts its functions.
Assuntos
Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/metabolismo , Animais , Apoptose/genética , Apoptose/fisiologia , Regulação da Expressão Gênica/genética , Regulação da Expressão Gênica/fisiologia , Humanos , Fosforilação/genética , Fosforilação/fisiologia , Processamento de Proteína Pós-Traducional/genética , Processamento de Proteína Pós-Traducional/fisiologia , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/genética , Transdução de Sinais , Proteínas Supressoras de Tumor/genética , Proteínas Supressoras de Tumor/metabolismoRESUMO
DNA methylation is a key regulator of embryonic stem cell (ESC) biology, dynamically changing between naïve, primed, and differentiated states. The p53 tumor suppressor is a pivotal guardian of genomic stability, but its contributions to epigenetic regulation and stem cell biology are less explored. We report that, in naïve mouse ESCs (mESCs), p53 restricts the expression of the de novo DNA methyltransferases Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b while up-regulating Tet1 and Tet2, which promote DNA demethylation. The DNA methylation imbalance in p53-deficient (p53-/-) mESCs is the result of augmented overall DNA methylation as well as increased methylation landscape heterogeneity. In differentiating p53-/- mESCs, elevated methylation persists, albeit more mildly. Importantly, concomitant with DNA methylation heterogeneity, p53-/- mESCs display increased cellular heterogeneity both in the "naïve" state and upon induced differentiation. This impact of p53 loss on 5-methylcytosine (5mC) heterogeneity was also evident in human ESCs and mouse embryos in vivo. Hence, p53 helps maintain DNA methylation homeostasis and clonal homogeneity, a function that may contribute to its tumor suppressor activity.
Assuntos
Metilação de DNA/genética , Regulação da Expressão Gênica/genética , Heterogeneidade Genética , Homeostase/genética , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/genética , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/metabolismo , Animais , Diferenciação Celular/genética , Células Clonais , DNA (Citosina-5-)-Metiltransferases/genética , Células-Tronco Embrionárias , Deleção de Genes , Humanos , Camundongos , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas/genéticaRESUMO
Unlike the rather stereotypic image by which it was portrayed until not too many years ago, p53 is now increasingly emerging as a multifaceted transcription factor that can sometimes exert opposing effects on biological processes. This includes pro-survival activities that seem to contradict p53's canonical proapoptotic features, as well as opposing effects on cell migration, metabolism, and differentiation. Such antagonistic bifunctionality (balancing both positive and negative signals) bestows p53 with an ideal attribute to govern homeostasis. The molecular mechanisms underpinning the paradoxical activities of p53 may be related to a protein conformational spectrum (from canonical wild-type to "pseudomutant"), diversity of DNA response elements, and/or higher-order chromatin configuration. Altogether, this functional flexibility positions p53 as a transcriptional "super hub" that dictates cell homeostasis, and ultimately cell fate, by governing a hierarchy of other functional hubs. Deciphering the mechanisms by which p53 determines which hubs to engage, and how one might modulate the preferences of p53, remains a major challenge for both basic science and translational cancer medicine.