1. Signaling Pathways
  2. Apoptosis
  3. MDM-2/p53
  4. MDM-2/p53 Signaling Pathway

MDM-2/p53 Signaling Pathway

p53 is at the centre of biological interactions that translates stress signals into cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. Upstream signaling to p53 increases its level and activates its function as a transcription factor in response to a wide variety of stresses, whereas downstream components execute the appropriate cellular response. 

 

Cell Stress: p53 induction by acute DNA damage begins when DNA double-strand breaks trigger activation of ATM, a kinase that phosphorylates the CHK2 kinase, or when stalled or collapsed DNA replication forks recruit ATR, which phosphorylates CHK1. p53 is a substrate for both the ATM and ATR kinases, as well as for CHK1 and CHK2, which coordinately phosphorylate p53 to promote its stabilization. These phosphorylation events are important for p53 stabilization, as some of the modifications disrupt the interaction between p53 and its negative regulators MDM2 and MDM4. MDM2 and MDM4 bind to the transcriptional activation domains of p53, thereby inhibiting p53 transactivation function, and MDM2 has additional activity as an E3 ubiquitin ligase that causes proteasome-mediated degradation of p53. Phosphorylation also allows the interaction of p53 with transcriptional cofactors, which is ultimately important for activation of target genes and for responses such as cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, apoptosis and senescence. Non-receptor tyrosine kinase c-Abl can also be activated by DNA damage. Then the JNK/p38 is activated and leads to p53 activation[1][2]

 

Oncogenic signaling: The response to oncogene activation depends on the binding of ARF to MDM2. ARF is normally expressed at low levels in cells. Inappropriately increased E2F or Myc signals, stemming from oncogene activation, leads to the increased expression of ARF, which inhibits MDM2 by blocking its E3 ubiquitin ligase activity, uncoupling the p53-MDM2 interaction, thereby segregating it from nucleoplasmic p53[3].

 

The PI3K-Akt pathway activates MDM2 and increases the ubiquitination of p53. 

 

Reference:
[1]. Chène P, et al. Inhibiting the p53-MDM2 interaction: an important target for cancer therapy. Nat Rev Cancer. 2003 Feb;3(2):102-9.
[2]. Brown CJ, et al. Awakening guardian angels: drugging the p53 pathway. Nat Rev Cancer. 2009 Dec;9(12):862-73. 
[3]. Polager S, et al. p53 and E2f: partners in life and death. Nat Rev Cancer. 2009 Oct;9(10):738-48. doi: 10.1038/nrc2718.

MDM-2/p53 Signaling Pathway Map (png)