title: MDM2 oligomers: antagonizers of the guardian of the genome.
abstract: Over two decades of MDM2 research has resulted in the accumulation of a wealth of knowledge of many aspects of MDM2 regulation and function, particularly with respect to its most prominent target, p53. For example, recent knock-in mouse studies have shown that MDM2 heterooligomer formation with its homolog, MDMX, is necessary and sufficient in utero to suppress p53 but is dispensable during adulthood. However, despite crucial advances such as these, several aspects regarding basic in vivo functions of MDM2 remain unknown. In one such example, although abundant evidence suggests that MDM2 forms homooligomers and heterooligomers with MDMX, the function and regulation of these homo- and heterooligomers in vivo remain incompletely understood. In this review, we discuss the current state of our knowledge of MDM2 oligomerization as well as current efforts to target the MDM2 oligomer as a broad therapeutic option for cancer treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.|Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Leslie
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.|Laboratory of Biological Cancer Therapy, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016678:Genome; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D055503:Protein Multimerization / Q000187:drug effects; D051736:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-mdm2 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D051736:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-mdm2