AKT2

TP53 stimulates transcription of TIGAR, a D-fructose 2,6-bisphosphatase. TIGAR activity decreases glycolytic rate and lowers ROS (reactive oxygen species) levels in cells (Bensaad et al. 2006). TP53 may also negatively regulate the rate of glycolysis by inhibiting the expression of glucose transporters GLUT1, GLUT3 and GLUT4 (Kondoh et al. 2005, Schwartzenberg-Bar-Yoseph et al. 2004, Kawauchi et al. 2008).

TP53 negatively regulates several key points in PI3K/AKT signaling and downstream mTOR signaling, decreasing the rate of protein synthesis and, hence, cellular growth. TP53 directly stimulates transcription of the tumor suppressor PTEN, which acts to inhibit PI3K-mediated activation of AKT (Stambolic et al. 2001). TP53 stimulates transcription of sestrin genes, SESN1, SESN2, and SESN3 (Velasco-Miguel et al. 1999, Budanov et al. 2002, Brynczka et al. 2007). One of sestrin functions may be to reduce and reactivate overoxidized peroxiredoxin PRDX1, thereby reducing ROS levels (Budanov et al. 2004, Papadia et al. 2008, Essler et al. 2009). Another function of sestrins is to bind the activated AMPK complex and protect it from AKT-mediated inactivation. By enhancing AMPK activity, sestrins negatively regulate mTOR signaling (Budanov and Karin 2008, Cam et al. 2014). The expression of DDIT4 (REDD1), another negative regulator of mTOR signaling, is directly stimulated by TP63 and TP53. DDIT4 prevents AKT-mediated inactivation of TSC1:TSC2 complex, thus inhibiting mTOR cascade (Cam et al. 2014, Ellisen et al. 2002, DeYoung et al. 2008). TP53 may also be involved, directly or indirectly, in regulation of expression of other participants of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling, such as PIK3CA (Singh et al. 2002), TSC2 and AMPKB (Feng et al. 2007).

TP53 regulates mitochondrial metabolism through several routes. TP53 stimulates transcription of SCO2 gene, which encodes a mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase assembly protein (Matoba et al. 2006). TP53 stimulates transcription of RRM2B gene, which encodes a subunit of the ribonucleotide reductase complex, responsible for the conversion of ribonucleotides to deoxyribonucleotides and essential for the maintenance of mitochondrial DNA content in the cell (Tanaka et al. 2000, Bourdon et al. 2007, Kulawiec et al. 2009). TP53 also transactivates mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM), a nuclear-encoded gene important for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) transcription and maintenance (Park et al. 2009). Finally, TP53 stimulates transcription of the mitochondrial glutaminase GLS2, leading to increased mitochondrial respiration rate and reduced ROS levels (Hu et al. 2010).

The great majority of tumor cells generate energy through aerobic glycolysis, rather than the much more efficient aerobic mitochondrial respiration, and this metabolic change is known as the Warburg effect (Warburg 1956). Since the majority of tumor cells have impaired TP53 function, and TP53 regulates a number of genes involved in glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration, it is likely that TP53 inactivation plays an important role in the metabolic derangement of cancer cells such as the Warburg effect and the concomitant increased tumorigenicity (reviewed by Feng and Levine 2010). On the other hand, some mutations of TP53 in Li-Fraumeni syndrome may result in the retention of its wild-type metabolic activities while losing cell cycle and apoptosis functions (Wang et al. 2013). Consistent with such human data, some mutations of p53, unlike p53 null state, retain the ability to regulate energy metabolism while being inactive in regulating its classic gene targets involved in cell cycle, apoptosis and senescence. Retention of metabolic and antioxidant functions of p53 protects p53 mutant mice from early onset tumorigenesis (Li et al. 2012)

The nuclear localization of MDM2 is positively regulated by AKT- or SGK1- mediated phosphorylation (Mayo and Donner 2001, Zhou et al. 2001, Amato et al. 2009, Lyo et al. 2010). Phosphorylation of MDM2 by CDK1 or CDK2 decreases affinity of MDM2 for TP53 (Zhang and Prives 2001). ATM and CHEK2 kinases, activated by double strand DNA breaks, phosphorylate TP53, reducing its affinity for MDM2 (Banin et al. 1998, Canman et al. 1998, Khanna et al. 1998, Chehab et al. 1999, Chehab et al. 2000). At the same time, ATM phosphorylates MDM2, preventing MDM2 dimerization (Cheng et al. 2009, Cheng et al. 2011). Both ATM and CHEK2 phosphorylate MDM4, triggering MDM2-mediated ubiquitination of MDM4 (Chen et al. 2005, Pereg et al. 2005). Cyclin G1 (CCNG1), transcriptionally induced by TP53, targets the PP2A phosphatase complex to MDM2, resulting in dephosphorylation of MDM2 at specific sites, which can have either a positive or a negative impact on MDM2 function (Okamoto et al. 2002).

In contrast to MDM2, E3 ubiquitin ligases RNF34 (CARP1) and RFFL (CARP2) can ubiquitinate phosphorylated TP53 (Yang et al. 2007).

In addition to ubiquitinating MDM4 (Pereg et al. 2005), MDM2 can also undergo auto-ubiquitination (Fang et al. 2000). MDM2 and MDM4 can be deubiquitinated by the ubiquitin protease USP2 (Stevenson et al. 2007, Allende-Vega et al. 2010). The ubiquitin protease USP7 can deubiquitinate TP53, but in the presence of DAXX deubiquitinates MDM2 (Li et al. 2002, Sheng et al. 2006, Tang et al. 2006).

The tumor suppressor p14-ARF, expressed from the CDKN2A gene in response to oncogenic or oxidative stress, forms a tripartite complex with MDM2 and TP53, sequesters MDM2 from TP53, and thus prevents TP53 degradation (Zhang et al. 1998, Parisi et al. 2002, Voncken et al. 2005).

For review of this topic, please refer to Kruse and Gu 2009

Binding of ASPP family proteins PPP1R13B (ASPP1) or TP53BP2 (ASPP2) to TP53 stimulates transcription of pro-apoptotic TP53 targets (Samuels-Lev et al. 2001, Bergamaschi et al. 2004). Binding of the ASPP family member PPP1R13L (iASSP) inhibits TP53-mediated activation of pro-apoptotic genes probably by interfering with binding of stimulatory ASPPs to TP53 (Bergamaschi et al. 2003). Transcription of pro-apoptotic genes is also stimulated by binding of TP53 to POU4F2 (BRN3B) (Budrham-Mahadeo et al. 2006, Budhram-Mahadeo et al. 2014) or to hCAS/CSE1L (Tanaka et al. 2007).

Binding of co-factors to TP53 can also affect protein stability. For example, PHF20 binds to TP53 dimethylated on lysine residues K370 and K382 by unidentified protein lysine methyltransferase(s) and interferes with MDM2 binding, resulting in prolonged TP53 half-life (Cui et al. 2012). Long noncoding RNAs can contribute to p53-dependent transcriptional responses (Huarte et al. 2010). For a general review on this topic, see Espinosa 2008, Beckerman and Prives 2010, Murray-Zmijewski et al. 2008, An et al. 2004 and Barsotti and Prives 2010