title: Long story short: p53 mediates innate immunity.
abstract: The story of p53 and how we came to understand it is punctuated by fundamental insights into the essence of cancer. In the decades since its discovery, p53 has been shown to be centrally involved in most, if not all, of the cellular processes that maintain tissue homeostasis. Extensive functional analyses of p53 and its tumor-associated mutants have illuminated many of the common defects shared by most cancer cells. As the central character in a tale that continues to unfold, p53 has become increasingly familiar and yet remains surprisingly inscrutable. New relationships periodically come to light, and surprising, novel activities continue to emerge, thereby revealing new dimensions and aspects of its function. What lies at the very core of this complex protagonist? What is its prime motivation? As every avid reader knows, the elements of character are profoundly shaped by adversity--originating from within and without. And so it is with p53. This review will briefly recap the coordinated responses of p53 to viral infection, and outline a hypothetical model that would explain how an abundance of seemingly unrelated phenotypic attributes may in the end reflect a singular function. All stories eventually draw to a conclusion. This epic tale may eventually leave us with the realization that p53, most simply described, is a protein that evolved to mediate immune surveillance.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, The Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. Electronic address: jmiciak@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miciak
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, The Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. Electronic address: fredbunz@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Fred
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bunz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002450:Cell Communication; D004249:DNA Damage; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D005947:Glucose
keywords: Adenovirus; DNA damage; Interferon; P53