title: Tumor suppressors: enhancers or suppressors of regeneration?
abstract: Tumor suppressors are so named because cancers occur in their absence, but these genes also have important functions in development, metabolism and tissue homeostasis. Here, we discuss known and potential functions of tumor suppressor genes during tissue regeneration, focusing on the evolutionarily conserved tumor suppressors pRb1, p53, Pten and Hippo. We propose that their activity is essential for tissue regeneration. This is in contrast to suggestions that tumor suppression is a trade-off for regenerative capacity. We also hypothesize that certain aspects of tumor suppressor pathways inhibit regenerative processes in mammals, and that transient targeted modification of these pathways could be fruitfully exploited to enhance processes that are important to regenerative medicine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. jason.pomerantz@ucsfmedctr.org
authors.forename: Jason H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Pomerantz
authors.forename: Helen M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Blau
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000378:metabolism; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D016147:Genes, Tumor Suppressor; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D009154:Mutation; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012038:Regeneration; D015398:Signal Transduction; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000099317:Hippo Kinases
chemical_list: D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D051059:PTEN Phosphohydrolase; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; C417743:Cdkn2a protein, mouse; C495901:TP53 protein, human; C499474:hpo protein, Drosophila; D000099317:Hippo Kinases; C487757:Pten protein, mouse
keywords: Differentiation; Evolution; Regeneration; Tissue homeostasis; Tumor suppressors