p53 Activity Dominates That of p73 Caused by Mdm4 Loss

In this study, the significance of the Mdm4 and p73 interaction in vivo during embryogenesis and tumorigenesis was examined. The data revealed that p73 loss did not rescue either the early Mdm4-deficient embryonic lethality or the runted phenotype of Mdm42/2 p53+/– embryos. Furthermore, studies in the developing central nervous system wherein both genes have prominent roles indicated that loss of p73 also did not rescue the Mdm4-null brain phenotype as did p53 loss. This p53 dependency occurred despite evidence for p73-specific transcriptional activity. In tumor studies, the combination of Mdm4 overexpression and p73 loss did not alter survival of mice or the tumor spectrum as compared with Mdm4 overexpression alone. In summary, these data demonstrate that the Mdm4–p73 axis cannot override the dominant role of p53 in development and tumorigenesis.
Implications: Genetic characterization of the Mdm4 and p73 interaction during development and tumorigenesis suggests new insight into the role of p53 family members, which may influence treatment options for patients. Mol Cancer Res; 14(1); 56–65. ©2015 AACR.

Source: Molecular Cancer Research - January 15, 2016 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tashakori, M., Zhang, Y., Xiong, S., You, M. J., Lozano, G. Tags: Oncogenes and Tumor Suppressors Source Type: research