Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P04637 (p53)
 77,613 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In primary breast cancer, mutations of the p53 tumor suppressor gene lead to loss of growth-suppressive properties and poor outcome. Recently, a p53-related gene, termed p73, has been cloned and its gene product possesses a function similar to p53. p73 has been mapped at chromosome 1p36.3, a region frequently deleted in breast cancer, neuroblastoma and other malignancies. To elucidate the functional significance of p73 in the oncogenesis of breast cancer, we have studied genetic alterations of p73 in tissue specimens obtained from 87 patients with primary breast cancer. Thirteen percent of informative cases showed loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the p73 gene. However, there was no correlation between the p73 LOH and clinical features such as histopathological types, metastatic behavior or expression of estrogen or progesterone receptor. The levels of p73 transcript in primary breast cancer were not significantly different from those in normal breast tissue. Moreover, PCR-SSCP analysis failed to detect any missense or frameshift mutations in the p73 gene. Our observations suggest that allelic loss, expression levels and mutations of the p73 gene may not contribute to oncogenesis of primary breast cancers.
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PMID:Mutational analysis of the p73 gene in human breast cancers. 1037 54

Mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene are the most frequent genetic alterations found in human cancers. Recent identification of two human homologues of p53 has raised the prospect of functional interactions between family members via a conserved oligomerization domain. Here we report in vitro and in vivo analysis of homo- and hetero-oligomerization of p53 and its homologues, p63 and p73. The oligomerization domains of p63 and p73 can independently fold into stable homotetramers, as previously observed for p53. However, the oligomerization domain of p53 does not associate with that of either p73 or p63, even when p53 is in 15-fold excess. On the other hand, the oligomerization domains of p63 and p73 are able to weakly associate with one another in vitro. In vivo co-transfection assays of the ability of p53 and its homologues to activate reporter genes showed that a DNA-binding mutant of p53 was not able to act in a dominant negative manner over wild-type p73 or p63 but that a p73 mutant could inhibit the activity of wild-type p63. These data suggest that mutant p53 in cancer cells will not interact with endogenous or exogenous p63 or p73 via their respective oligomerization domains. It also establishes that the multiple isoforms of p63 as well as those of p73 are capable of interacting via their common oligomerization domain.
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PMID:p73 and p63 are homotetramers capable of weak heterotypic interactions with each other but not with p53. 1037 84

p73, a member of the p53 family at 1p36.3, has been demonstrated to be expressed monoallelically and induce apoptosis or G1 arrest of the cell cycle. To explore the candidacy of p73 as a suppressor in bladder tumorigenesis, we examined expression level, allelic origin, and mutation of p73 mRNA in 45 primary bladder carcinomas. Quantitative PCR analysis showed no allelic loss of the gene but showed various levels of mRNA expression in both carcinoma and noncancerous tissues. Elevated expression of p73 was frequently observed in carcinoma tissues [18 (40.0%) of 45] and showed a strong correlation with tumor stage or grade. Allotyping analysis using a StyI polymorphism detected biallelic expression in 12 (52.2%) of 23 heterozygous carcinomas but none in 4 noncancerous tissues. Tumor-specific biallelic expression was also identified from one matched set. In addition, 8 (66.7%) of these 12 expressed high levels of p73 mRNA, whereas only 2 (18.2%) of 11 monoallelic expressors showed high expression, which suggests that the increased expression of p73 might be caused by the transcriptional activation of a silent allele in carcinomas. Single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis of the entire coding region of p73 revealed no mutation, whereas 12 (26.7%) of the same set showed p53 alterations. No relationship between expression of p73 and p53 mutation or expression of p21Waf1 or MDM2 was identified. Taken together, our data argue that p73 does not play a role as a tumor suppressor in bladder carcinogenesis and suggest that the activation of a silent allele may contribute to the progression of bladder tumors.
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PMID:Elevated and biallelic expression of p73 is associated withprogression of human bladder cancer. 1038 32

p73 is a recently cloned tumor suppressor gene that is highly homologous to p53, and the products of both possess similar functions in inhibiting cell growth and inducing apoptosis. Interestingly, the COOH-terminal region of p53 displays no significant homology with that of p73. Moreover, p73 has an additional segment at its COOH terminus. Recently, we have found two mutations of p73 with amino acid substitution (P405R and P425L) in primary neuroblastomas. Because the region (amino acid residues 382-491) contains a glutamine- and proline-rich domain, we hypothesized that it has a transactivation function, and the mutations found in tumors result in loss of function. To test it, we used the yeast GAL4 DNA-binding fusion system. Yeast transformants expressing a GAL4-p73(1-112) or a GAL4-p73alpha(380-513) fusion protein were grown in SD medium lacking histidine and tryptophan and exhibited a significant induction of beta-galactosidase activity. Transient transfection experiments revealed that both of fusion proteins could induce the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity in mammalian cells, indicating that the COOH-terminal as well as NH2-terminal regions of p73 had significantly high levels of transactivation activity. Furthermore, the former activity was severely impaired in two naturally occurring mutant forms found in neuroblastomas. These suggest that, unlike p53, p73 has two domains with transactivation function, one in the NH2-terminal region and the other in the COOH-terminal region. Loss of function mutation in the latter might be involved in tumorigenesis and/or tumor progression.
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PMID:Identification of a transactivation activity in the COOH-terminal region of p73 which is impaired in the naturally occurring mutants found in human neuroblastomas. 1038 37

Cancer chemotherapeutic agents such as cisplatin exert their cytotoxic effect by inducing DNA damage and activating programmed cell death (apoptosis). The tumour-suppressor protein p53 is an important activator of apoptosis. Although p53-deficient cancer cells are less responsive to chemotherapy, their resistance is not complete, which suggests that other apoptotic pathways may exist. A p53-related gene, p73, which encodes several proteins as a result of alternative splicing, can also induce apoptosis. Here we show that the amount of p73 protein in the cell is increased by cisplatin. This induction of p73 is not seen in cells unable to carry out mismatch repair and in which the nuclear enzyme c-Abl tyrosine kinase is not activated by cisplatin. The half-life of p73 is prolonged by cisplatin and by co-expression with c-Abl tyrosine kinase; the apoptosis-inducing function of p73 is also enhanced by the c-Abl kinase. Mouse embryo fibroblasts deficient in mismatch repair or in c-Abl do not upregulate p73 and are more resistant to killing by cisplatin. Our results indicate that c-Abl and p73 are components of a mismatch-repair-dependent apoptosis pathway which contributes to cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity.
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PMID:The tyrosine kinase c-Abl regulates p73 in apoptotic response to cisplatin-induced DNA damage. 1039 Dec 35

c-Abl, a non-receptor tyrosine kinase, is activated by agents that damage DNA. This activation results in either arrest of the cell cycle in phase G1 or apoptotic cell death, both of which are dependent on the kinase activity of c-Abl. p73, a member of the p53 family of tumour-suppressor proteins, can also induce apoptosis. Here we show that the apoptotic activity of p73alpha requires the presence of functional, kinase-competent c-Abl. Furthermore, p73 and c-Abl can associate with each other, andthis binding is mediated by a PxxP motif in p73 and the SH3 domain of c-Abl. We find that p73 is a substrate of the c-Abl kinase and that the ability of c-Abl to phosphorylate p73 is markedly increased by gamma-irradiation. Moreover, p73 is phosphorylated in vivo in response to ionizing radiation. These findings define a pro-apoptotic signalling pathway involving p73 and c-Abl.
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PMID:Interaction of c-Abl and p73alpha and their collaboration to induce apoptosis. 1039 Dec 35

The protein p73 is a structural and functional homologue of the p53 tumour-suppressor protein but, unlike p53, it is not induced in response to DNA damage. The tyrosine kinase c-Abl is activated by certain DNA-damaging agents and contributes to the induction of programmed cell death (apoptosis) by p53-dependent and p53-independent mechanisms. Here we show that c-Abl binds to p73 in cells, interacting through its SH3 domain with the carboxy-terminal homo-oligomerization domain of p73. c-Abl phosphorylates p73 on a tyrosine residue at position 99 both in vitro and in cells that have been exposed to ionizing radiation. Our results show that c-Abl stimulates p73-mediated transactivation and apoptosis. This regulation of p73 by c-Abl in response to DNA damage is also demonstrated by a failure of ionizing-radiation-induced apoptosis after disruption of the c-Abl-p73 interaction. These findings show that p73 is regulated by a c-Abl-dependent mechanism and that p73 participates in the apoptotic response to DNA damage.
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PMID:p73 is regulated by tyrosine kinase c-Abl in the apoptotic response to DNA damage. 1039 Dec 35

The p73 gene is a structural and, in overexpression systems, functional p53 homologue. Ectopic p73 expression can activate a broad subset of p53-responsive genes, induce apoptosis, and act as a growth suppressor. Yet, viral oncoproteins that antagonize p53 (adenovirus E1B 55K, SV40 large T, and human papillomavirus E6) do not antagonize p73. This could suggest that inactivation of p73, in contrast to p53, is not required for tumorigenesis. Also, p73 is not activated by DNA damage. Because intragenic p73 mutations in tumors have not been reported and imprinting is idiosyncratic, tumor-specific changes in wild-type p73 expression levels become the most reliable guide toward identifying the normal function of p73 and its role in tumorigenesis. We analyzed 77 invasive breast cancers and 7 breast cancer cell lines for p73 mRNA expression levels, allelic origin, intragenic mutations, and COOH-terminal splice variants. A range of normal tissues, including breast, showed very low p73 expression, with little variation from tissue to tissue. In contrast, 38% (29 cases) of breast cancers had elevated p73 mRNA ranging from 5-25-fold above normal, with the remaining tumors (64%) falling within the normal range. Moreover, five of seven cell lines (71%) also exhibited p73 overexpression (13-73-fold). Yet, no correlation with p21 mRNA and protein levels was present, although four of the five lines were mutant for p53. Mutation analysis of the eight highest expressers showed wild type status. Eight of 14 informative samples were biallelic, whereas the remaining 6 samples showed monoallelic expression. Tumors and cell lines with p73 overexpression tended to exhibit a complex profile of up to six different COOH-terminal splice variants, whereas normal and transformed tissues with low p73 mRNA predominantly expressed p73 alpha. We confirm the previously described variants p73 gamma and delta in breast tissue and describe two novel isoforms, p73 epsilon and phi, thereby further enlarging combinatorial possibilities. Together, our in vivo data show that p73 does not have a role as a classic Knudson-type tumor suppressor in breast cancer.
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PMID:Overexpression of the wild type p73 gene in breast cancer tissues and cell lines. 1039 74

The p73 gene is a candidate tumor suppressor gene that has significant homology to p53. Thus far, p73 has not been investigated in hematopoietic malignancies. We used single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis to examine 60 de novo acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patients for p73 mutations in exons 4, 6 and 7, which are homologous to the most frequently mutated exons in p53. Mutations were not found, but we did identify polymorphisms in exons 4 and 7. We also examined p73 RNA expression in 15 AML samples, eight cell lines, and eight normal bone marrows using the reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction assay. All 31 RNA samples had p73 expression. Fourteen RNA samples were informative for allelic expression, being heterozygous for a polymorphism in codon 173 of exon 4. The two normal bone marrows and the K562 cell line had evidence of biallelic expression while six of 10 AML patients and the Kasumi (AML) cell line had monoallelic expression. These data suggest that functional p73 mutations in exons 4, 6 and 7 do not occur in most de novo AML patients. In addition, biallelic expression of p73 occurs in normal bone marrows, some AML samples, and specific cell lines. Lastly, monoallelic p73 expression appears to be common in de novo AML.
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PMID:p73 mutations and expression in adult de novo acute myelogenous leukemia. 1040 Apr 12

A novel gene, termed p73 with significant homology to p53, has been identified at 1p36, a chromosomal region which is frequently deleted in malignant melanoma. To determine whether p73 is involved in melanoma development we analyzed 8 benign melanocytic nevi, 17 primary melanomas, 34 melanoma metastases and 9 melanoma cell lines for p73 alterations. Allelic loss at the p73 locus was observed in 2 of 10 cases (20%) and occurred only in metastatic tumors. Mutation analysis of the DNA-binding domain of p73 revealed no somatic mutations in the tumor specimens and melanoma cell lines analyzed, whereas the p53 gene was mutated in 5 of 9 melanoma cell lines. Expression analysis of p73 using semiquantitative RT-PCR demonstrated that p73 is not expressed or at exceedingly low levels in benign melanocytic nevi, primary melanomas and lymph node metastases, but at various levels in melanoma cell lines. Our data indicate that p73 does not play a role as a tumor suppressor in melanoma development.
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PMID:Lack of p73 mutations and late occurrence of p73 allelic deletions in melanoma tissues and cell lines. 1040 74


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