April 2008 Molecular Cancer Research Highlights

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Selected Articles from the April 1, 2008 Issue

The articles referenced in this Highlights section will be available online in HTML and PDF formats to all interested users at no charge until the next issue of Molecular Cancer Research is published. Click on the article title to view the complete article.

View the Table of Contents for the April 2008 issue of Molecular Cancer Research

DNA Damage Responses 2007 G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award Lecture

Class II PI3Kα Is Required for Cell Survival

Novel p53 Regulatory Mechanism

p53 regulates its downstream targets using multiple mechanisms. Liu and colleagues discovered a perfect 10-bp palindrome in the promoter of a stress-inducible gene, DUSP1, as a novel p53-binding site. p53 transactivates the promoter by binding to this palindrome motif and induces DUSP1 expression. p53 binds to chromatin containing the palindrome only under conditions that induce apoptosis. These findings lead to a hypothesis that p53 may selectively regulate its target genes through either its canonical binding sites or palindrome motifs in response to different types of damage or environmental stress. 

High-mobility group A2 (HMGA2) is commonly overexpressed in large leiomyomas. HMGA2 is an important regulator of cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis, and transformation. Let7 microRNAs (Let-7s) regulate target genes through either posttranscriptional repression or translational repression. Peng and colleagues show that Let-7s could be a key negative regulator for HMGA2 expression and cellular proliferation. These findings also provide additional support that repression of HMGA2a by Let-7s is a specific molecular mechanism responsible for leiomyoma growth.