MSK1 functions as a transcriptional coactivator of p53 in the regulation of p21 gene expression

Abstract

Tumor suppression: another link in a signaling chain New drugs to fight tumors could be developed, thanks to research revealing how a protein called MSK1 interacts with and assists another protein, “p53,” which has well-established tumor-suppressing activity. Researchers led by Jeong Hyeon Park at Massey University in New Zealand and Jaehoon Kim at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea studied the function of the MSK1 protein in cultured human cells. They uncovered details of a previously unknown direct interaction between the MSK1 and p53 proteins. This allows the MSK1-p53 combination to increase the activity of a gene that codes for another protein, p21. The p21 protein then participates in further molecular processes that can restrict cell growth and multiplication. Drugs that control MSK1 activity might offer new opportunities to combat the uncontrolled multiplication of cancer cells.