Genetic alteration of the p53 tumor suppressor gene, which monitors DNA damage and operates cell cycle checkpoints, is a major factor in the development of human malignancies. The p53 protein belongs to a family that also includes two structurally related proteins, p63 and p73. Although all three proteins share similar transcriptional functions and antiproliferative effects, each of them appears to play a distinct role in development and tumor suppression. One of the principal regulators of p53 activity is the MDM2 protein. The interaction of MDM2 with p53 inhibits p53 transcriptional activity and targets p53 for ubiquitin-dependent degradation. The ability of MDM2 to inhibit p53 functions is antagonized by the ARF oncosuppressor protein. We show here that like p53, the p63␣ and p63␥ isoforms are able to associate with human MDM2 (HDM2). Overexpression of HDM2 increased the steady-state level of intracellular p63 and enhanced its transcriptional activity. Both effects appeared to be counteracted by ARF coexpression. These data indicate that p63 can be activated by HDM2 under conditions in which p53 is inhibited. Therefore, HDM2 expression could support p63-specific transcriptional functions on a common set of genes, keeping interference by p53 at a minimum.The p63 gene, which maps on the 3q27-28 region, is one of the members of the p53 gene family. Unlike p53, it shows a complex pattern of expression due to alternative splicing and promoter usage that results in multiple isoforms with different biological activities (1, 2). Initiation of transcription in exon 1 produces the TA isotypes, containing the evolutionarily conserved transactivation, DNA-binding, and oligomerization domains, whereas initiation in exon 3Ј gives rise to the ⌬N isotypes that lack the TA domain (3). p63 shows a remarkable structural similarity to p53 and to the related p73 protein: ϳ60% of the amino acids of the human p63 and p73 proteins in the region corresponding to the DNA-binding domain are identical to those of p53 (4).In contrast with the ubiquitous expression of p53, p63 exhibits a rather tissue-specific distribution in that it is most detectable in the basal layer of stratified epithelia, including the epidermis, where the ⌬Np63␣ isotype is predominantly expressed (3). However, it is still not known how the expression of different isoforms of p63 is regulated in different tissues and during development.All three members of the p53 family share similar transcriptional functions, as p63 and p73 can also activate many of the p53 target genes, although with varying efficiency (5). Moreover, like p73, p63 is able to induce apoptosis and growth suppression in a manner similar to p53 (4).Molecular alterations of p63 or p73 in human cancers appear to be rare; unlike p53-deficient mice, those lacking p73 or p63 show no increased susceptibility to spontaneous tumorigenesis (6, 7). Viral oncoproteins such as SV40 large T antigen, adenovirus E1B, and human papilloma virus E6, which bind and inactivate p53, do not target p73 and p63 (2, 8). Thu...

The epidermis is a stratified epithelium which develops depending on the transcription factor p63, a member of the p53 family of transcription factors. p63 is strongly expressed in the innermost basal layer where highly proliferative epithelial cells reside. p63 functions as a molecular switch that initiates epithelial stratification or cell fate determination while regulating proliferation and differentiation of developmentally mature keratinocytes. p63 acts upstream of Dlx3 homeobox gene in a transcriptional regulatory pathway relevant to ectodermal dysplasia. Here we show that Dlx3 triggers p63 protein degradation by a proteasome-dependent pathway. Mutant ΔNp63α in which Threonine397 and Serine383 were replaced with Alanine as well as C-terminal truncated versions of ΔNp63α are resistant to Dlx3-mediated degradation. Transient expression of Dlx3 is associated with Raf1 phosphorylation. Dlx3 is unable to promote p63 degradation in Raf1 depleted MEF cells or upon pharmacological knockdown of Raf1. Our data support a previously unrecognized role for Dlx3 in posttranslational regulation of ΔNp63α protein level, a mechanism that may contribute to reduce the abundance of ΔNp63α during differentiation of stratified epithelia.

The p14ARF tumor suppressor is a key regulator of cellular proliferation, frequently inactivated in human cancer, whose mode of action is currently not completely understood. We report here that the so-called human immunodeficiency virus Tat-binding protein-1 (TBP-1), a component of the 19 S regulatory subunit of the proteasome 26 S, also involved in transcriptional regulation and with a supposed role in the control of cell proliferation, specifically interacts with ARF, both in yeast and mammalian cells. We present evidence that the overexpression of TBP-1 in various cell lines results in a sharp increase of both transfected and endogenous ARF protein levels. Moreover, this effect depends on the binding between the two proteins and, at least in part, is exerted at the post-translational level. We also show that the ARF increase following TBP-1 overexpression results in an increase in p53 protein levels and activity. Finally, our data underline a clear involvement of TBP-1 in the control of cell proliferation.

The INK4a gene, one of the most often disrupted loci in human cancer, encodes two unrelated proteins, p16INK4a and p14 ARF (ARF) both capable of inducing cell cycle arrest. Although it has been clearly demonstrated that ARF inhibits cell cycle via p53 stabilization, very little is known about the involvement of ARF in other cell cycle regulatory pathways, as well as on the mechanisms responsible for activating ARF following oncoproliferative stimuli. In search of factors that might associate with ARF to control its activity or its specificity, we performed a yeast two-hybrid screen. We report here that the human homologue of spinophilin/neurabin II, a regulatory subunit of protein phosphatase 1 catalytic subunit specifically interacts with ARF, both in yeast and in mammalian cells. We also show that ectopic expression of spinophilin/neurabin II inhibits the formation of G418-resistant colonies when transfected into human and mouse cell lines, regardless of p53 and ARF status. Moreover, spinophilin/ARF coexpression in Saos-2 cells, where ARF ectopic expression is ineffective, somehow results in a synergic effect. These data demonstrate a role for spinophilin in cell growth and suggest that ARF and spinophilin could act in partially overlapping pathways.

The ARF protein functions as an important sensor of hyper-proliferative stimuli restricting cell proliferation through both p53-dependent and -independent pathways. Although to date the majority of studies on ARF have focused on its anti-proliferative role, few studies have addressed whether ARF may also have pro-survival functions. Here we show for the first time that during the process of adhesion and spreading ARF re-localizes to sites of active actin polymerization and to focal adhesion points where it interacts with the phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase. In line with its recruitment to focal adhesions, we observe that hampering ARF function in cancer cells leads to gross defects in cytoskeleton organization resulting in apoptosis through a mechanism dependent on the Death-Associated Protein Kinase. Our data uncover a novel function for p14ARF in protecting cells from anoikis that may reflect its role in anchorage independence, a hallmark of malignant tumor cells.