ASPPs and cancer

One of the most frequently mutated genes in human cancers, tumour suppressor p53 (TP53), can induce cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. The apoptotic function of p53 is tightly linked to its tumour-suppression function and the efficacy of many cancer therapies depends on this. The identification of a new family of proteins, known as ASPPs (ankyrin-repeat-, SH3-domain- and proline-rich-region-containing proteins), has led to the discovery of a novel mechanism that selectively regulates the apoptotic function, but not the cell-cycle-arrest function, of p53, and gives an insight into how p53 responds to different stress signals. ASPPs might be new molecular targets for cancer therapy.