IntroductionIn the past decades, p53 is probably one of the most widely studied proteins because of its pivotal role in tumorogenesis, cell death and survival. p53 is a transcription factor that mediates cell response to various detrimental stresses through a complex signaling network [1] . When cell endures a variety of insults including DNA damage, hypoxia, and oxidative stress, p53 becomes modified, which promotes both its stabilization and translocation into the nucleus, where p53 activates the expression of genes that induce cell cycle regulation, DNA repair, senescence, and cell death [2] .It has been found that the metabolism in cancer cells was altered. The metabolic alterations in cancer cells determine how cells respond to variable nutrient and oxygen availability and promote cell proliferation, growth and survival [3] . Recent findings indicated that p53 plays an important role in metabolic shifting in cancerous cells, suggesting a new function of p53 in regulating cell metabolism. However, how p53 regulates metabolism is complicated. In this review, we will try to elucidate the complex network of p53 regulation of different metabolic pathways.
The role of p53 in cell metabolismXing-ding ZHANG, Zheng-hong QIN, Jin WANG *
Department of Pharmacology and Aging and Nervous Diseases, Soochow University School of Medicine, Suzhou 215123, ChinaThe p53 tumor suppressor gene has recently been shown to mediate metabolic changes in cells under physiological and pathological conditions. It has been revealed that p53 regulates energy metabolism, oxidative stress, and amino acid metabolism through balancing glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) as well as the autophagy pathway. p53 is activated by metabolic stress through AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathways. p53 regulates OXPHOS through the transcriptional regulation of fructose-2,6-bisphosophatase, TP53-induced glycolysis regulator (TIGAR) and synthesis of cytochrome c oxidase (SCO2) subunit of complex IV of the electron transport chain. p53 also indirectly influences the energy metabolism through regulating glucose transporter (GLUT) expression, glutaminase 2 (GLS2) and fatty acid synthase (FAS). In addition, p53 regulates autophagy to provide cell metabolites for surviving through damage regulated autophagy modulator (DRAM1). Here we review the recent findings to elucidate the important role of p53 in cell metabolism.