Mechanism of p53 Dependent Apoptosis and its Role in Breast Cancer Therapy

Abstract

The p53 protein contains several functional domains necessary for inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, that is, activation domain 1 and 2, the proline-rich domain, and the C-terminal basic domain. To further determine the role of each p53 functional domain, we found that deletion of; or mutation at, activation domain 2 abrogates the apoptotic activity but not cell cycle arrest. We also found that at least two of the three domains, that is, activation domain 1 and 2 and the proline-rich domain, are necessary for cell cycle arrest. Interestingly, we found that deletion of activation domain 1 alleviates the requirement of the C-terminal basic domain for apoptotic activity. Furthermore, we found that activation domain 2 and the proline-rich domain form an activation domain for inducing pro-apoptotic genes and the C-terminal basic domain is required for maintaining this activation domain competent for transactivation. As an extension of our studies to determine how p53 functions as a tumor suppressor, we identified two novel p53 target genes, Dickkopf-1 (Dkk-l), an antagonist of the Wnt oncogenic pathway, and TAP1, a transporter of major histocompatibility class I antigens. This suggests that p53 may suppress transformation by Wnt and play a role in immunosurveillance.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2000
Accession Number
ADA387993

Entities

People

  • Xinbin Chen

Organizations

  • Medical College of Georgia

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amino Acids
  • Apoptosis
  • Breast Cancer
  • Cell Division
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Physiological Processes
  • Cells
  • Chemistry
  • Chromosomes
  • Department Of Defense
  • Genetics
  • Histocompatibility
  • Immune System
  • Metabolic Diseases
  • Papillomavirus Infections
  • Proteins
  • Tumor Cell Line

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Computer science

Readers

  • Molecular Biology and Genetics