Regulation of p73 activity by post-translational modifications

Cell Death Dis. 2012 Mar 15;3(3):e285. doi: 10.1038/cddis.2012.27.

Abstract

The transcription factor p73 is a member of the p53 family that can be expressed as at least 24 different isoforms with pro- or anti-apoptotic attributes. The TAp73 isoforms are expressed from an upstream promoter and are regarded as bona fide tumor suppressors; they can induce cell cycle arrest/apoptosis and protect against genomic instability. On the other hand, ΔNp73 isoforms lack the N-terminus transactivation domain; hence, cannot induce the expression of pro-apoptotic genes, but still can oligomerize with TAp73 or p53 to block their transcriptional activities. Therefore, the ratio of TAp73 isoforms to ΔNp73 isoforms is critical for the quality of the response to a genomic insult and needs to be delicately regulated at both transcriptional and post-translational level. In this review, we will summarize the current knowledge on the post-translational regulatory pathways involved to keep p73 protein under control. A comprehensive understanding of p73 post-translational modifications will be extremely useful for the development of new strategies for treating and preventing cancer.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Acetylation
  • Alternative Splicing
  • Animals
  • Apoptosis
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Neoplasms / genetics
  • Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Neoplasms / pathology
  • Nuclear Proteins / genetics
  • Nuclear Proteins / metabolism*
  • Phosphorylation
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic
  • Protein Isoforms
  • Protein Multimerization
  • Protein Processing, Post-Translational*
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Signal Transduction
  • Transcription, Genetic*
  • Transcriptional Activation
  • Tumor Protein p73
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / genetics
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / metabolism*
  • Tumor Suppressor Proteins / genetics
  • Tumor Suppressor Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • Protein Isoforms
  • TP73 protein, human
  • Trp73 protein, mouse
  • Tumor Protein p73
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
  • Tumor Suppressor Proteins
  • delta Np73 protein, human