The tumor suppressor protein, p53, is central to the pathways that monitor the stress, DNA damage repair, cell cycle, aging, and cancer. Highly complex p53 networks involving its upstream sensors and regulators, downstream effectors and regulatory feedback loops have been identified. CARF (Collaborator of ARF) was shown to enhance ARF-dependent and -independent wild-type p53 function. Here we report that (i) CARF overexpression causes premature senescence of human fibroblasts, (ii) it is vital for replicative and stress-induced senescence, and (iii) the lack of CARF function causes aneuploidy and apoptosis. We provide evidence that CARF plays a dual role in regulating p53-mediated senescence and apoptosis, the two major tumor suppressor mechanisms.The tumor suppressor protein, p53, is the most frequently inactivated protein in human cancers that symbolizes deregulation of genomic stability, cell cycle, senescence, and stress damage-repair response of cells (1-5). p53 signaling has been established as a complex network comprised of (i) upstream components consisting of stress signals and sensor proteins including kinases, transferases, methyalses, ligases, and others that regulate its activity either by post-translational modifications or by subcellular localization, (ii) core regulators including an upstream positive regulator (alternative reading frame, ARF) 4 protein that blocks its downstream effector and antagonist human double minute-2 (HDM2) protein, and (iii) the downstream effectors that determine the fate of cells by instigation of growth arrest, senescence, or apoptosis, the three potent tumor suppressor mechanisms. In addition to the fact that the initiation of DNA damage-induced senescence and establishment of growth arrest require p53 activation (4), a large number of studies have shown that the persistent inactivation of p53 is required for tumor maintenance. Cancer cells undergo either growth arrest or apoptosis with restoration of wild-type p53 function in vitro and in vivo (6 -8). These studies have prioritized further understanding of p53 signaling and regulation that would have major impact in cancer drug development.It is yet to be resolved how functional restoration of p53 culminates to growth arrest/senescence in some cells and apoptosis in others. Is it driven by the level of p53 expression, modulating partner proteins or its upstream regulators? Among the large number of p53-binding proteins that influence its activities, ARF and HDM2 have been demonstrated as its major regulators. HDM2 (an E3 ubiquitin ligase) is transcriptionally activated by p53 and acts to degrade p53 in turn; thus, executing a negative feedback loop on p53 activity. ARF has been shown to bind and inhibit HDM2 activity resulting in the activation of p53 pathway (9). CARF (Collaborator of ARF) protein was initially cloned as an ARF-binding protein by yeast two-hybrid screening and was shown to activate ARF-dependent and -independent p53 functions (10 -13). CARF interacts not only with ARF but also with p53 and HDM2, an...