title: Apoptosis - the p53 network.
abstract: Exposure to cellular stress can trigger the p53 tumor suppressor, a sequence-specific transcription factor, to induce cell growth arrest or apoptosis. The choice between these cellular responses is influenced by many factors, including the type of cell and stress, and the action of p53 co-activators. p53 stimulates a wide network of signals that act through two major apoptotic pathways. The extrinsic, death receptor pathway triggers the activation of a caspase cascade, and the intrinsic, mitochondrial pathway shifts the balance in the Bcl-2 family towards the pro-apoptotic members, promoting the formation of the apoptosome, and consequently caspase-mediated apoptosis. The impact of these two apoptotic pathways may be enhanced when they converge through Bid, which is a p53 target. The majority of these apoptotic effects are mediated through the induction of specific apoptotic target genes. However, p53 can also promote apoptosis by a transcription-independent mechanism under certain conditions. Thus, a multitude of mechanisms are employed by p53 to ensure efficient induction of apoptosis in a stage-, tissue- and stress-signal-specific manner. Manipulation of the apoptotic functions of p53 constitutes an attractive target for cancer therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, The Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem 91120, Israel.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haupt
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: Zehavit
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.forename: Ygal
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Haupt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D051023:BH3 Interacting Domain Death Agonist Protein; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D002455:Cell Division; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism; D025941:Protein Interaction Mapping; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D051023:BH3 Interacting Domain Death Agonist Protein; C494814:BID protein, human; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D020169:Caspases