Regulation of the E2F family: a further step in understanding ovarian cancer biology.

摘要

Over the last years, a number of key regulators involved in the development and progression of malignancy have been identified. However, after a more detailed insight in the nature of these molecules and the tangled network into which they are integrated, several distinct spliced variants have been identified. These isoforms frequently exhibit differential and. even opposite functional properties compared to their precursors. One of the most intriguing examples is the tumor suppressor gene p53 which has been of predominant interest In cancer research during the last decades. p53 has a crucial role in apoptosis, cell cycle control and DNA repair and has been designated "the guardian of the genome." After the recent identification of at least eight truncated distinct spliced isoforms of p53, some dogmas around this oncogene have to be readdressed. This is due to the fact that some of these isoforms have predominantly opposite effects on full-length p53.