Unveiling the developmental and tumor-suppressive roles of the p53 variant p53psi - PubMed
3 hours ago
- #alternative splicing
- #tumor suppression
- #p53
- The p53psi isoform is a shorter variant of p53, lacking nuclear localization, oligomerization, and part of the DNA binding domains due to alternative splicing.
- A mouse model expressing p53psi instead of full-length p53 was created to study its roles.
- Heterozygous p53psi mice (p53KI/+) are normal, but homozygous p53psi (p53KI/KI) is embryonically lethal by day E16.5, causing defects like exencephaly.
- p53psi-expressing mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) transformed with oncogenes showed slower tumor growth compared to p53null cells, indicating retained tumor-suppressive functions.
- Mechanistic studies suggest p53psi modulates tumorigenesis by triggering senescence.
- The findings help interpret TP53 mutational patterns in human cancers.