The transcription factor p73 is a homologue of p53 that can be expressed as pro- or anti-apoptotic isoforms. Unlike p53, p73 is rarely mutated or lost in cancers and it is found to replace defective p53 inducing apoptosis. Here, we investigated the p73 involvement in anoikis, a type of apoptosis caused by inadequate cell-matrix interactions. Breast cancer cell lines with different p53 status we...

A new p53 family member, p73, and its isoform Np73 are increasingly recognized in cancer research as important players in tumorigenesis, as well as in chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity. Despite substantial structural similarities to p53, accumulating evidence suggests that p53 and p73 may play different roles in human tumorigenesis. In this study, we have investigated the role of p73 and Np73 i...

While p73 overexpression has been associated with increased apoptosis in cancer tissues, p73 overexpressing tumors appear to be of high grade malignancy. Why this putative tumor suppressor is overexpressed in cancer cells and what the function of overexpressed p73 is in breast cancers are critical questions to be addressed. By investigating the effect of p53 inactivation on p73 expression, we f...

The p73 gene, a member of the p53 family, is a new candidate tumor suppressor gene. To investigate the possibility of genetic alteration of p73 in leukemia and lymphoma, we examined 55 cell lines and 39 patient samples together with 17 nonhematopoietic cancer cell lines. Gene expression of p73 was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in cell lines (5 of 7 pre B/B...

A novel p53-related gene, p73, was recently isolated and cytogenetically mapped to chromosome region 1p36. Functionally, p73 expression induces p21waf and suppresses tumor cell growth. We mapped p73 using radiation hybrids and localized the gene to an interval that putatively harbors a melanoma tumor suppressor locus. We then analyzed p73 transcripts from 24 melanoma cell lines using reverse tr...

BACKGROUND TP73, a p53 homologue gene, shares similar structural sequences with p53. The aim of this study was to investigate the p73 expression for human buccal epithelial dysplasia (ED) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). METHODS Seventy-five samples of human buccal ED, including mild, moderate, and severe ED (25 samples in each category), were analyzed for p73 protein expression by means of...

We have compiled the p73-mediated cell cycle arrest and apoptosis pathways. p73 is a member of the p53 family, consisting of p53, p63 and p73. p73 exists in several isoforms, presenting different domain structures. p73 functions not only as a tumor suppressor in apoptosis but also as differentiator in embryo development. p53 mutations are responsible for half of the human cancers; p73 can parti...

MDM2, one of the transcriptional targets of p53, can target p53 for degradation in a negative feedback loop. The p53-related protein p73, however, can bind to MDM2 but is not consequently down-regulated. Here we demonstrate that p73 could transactivate the MDM2 promoter in p53-null cell lines. In p53-null cell lines, the level of MDM2 was increased by p73 due to increases in transcription and p...

p73 is a member of the p53 family often overexpressed in human cancer. Its regulation, particularly following DNA damage, is different from that of p53. Following DNA damage, we found induction of p73 at both the protein and mRNA levels. Furthermore, by using different p73 promoter fragments, we found a role for E2F1 in mediating transcription of p73. However, this observation alone does not ac...

Human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are important cell population located in bone marrow that are thought to have multiple functions in cell transplantation and gene therapy. Although in vitro experiments have demonstrated that hMSCs are resistant to apoptosis induction by DNA damage agents such as chemotherapeutic substances used in bone marrow transplantation, the molecular mechan...