HIV Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about HIV, including details on human immunodeficiency virus, testing, treatment, prevention, vaccines, aids.

p53-A pro-apoptotic signal transducer involved in AIDS.

Castedo M, Perfettini JL, Piacentini M, Kroemer G

CNRS-UMR8125, Institut Gustave Roussy, 39 rue Camille-Desmoulins, F-94805 Villejuif, France.

P53 is a well-characterized tumor suppressor protein, which can induce apoptosis, either by inducing transcription of pro-apoptotic genes or by direct effects on mitochondrial membranes. Roughly 50% of human cancers are affected by the genetic or epigenetic inactivation of p53. Recently, p53 has been incriminated to play a cardinal role in the destruction of the immune system by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection. This suspicion is based on several lines of evidence: (i) p53 exhibits activating phosphorylations in a subset of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and lymph node cells from HIV-1 carriers; (ii) some p53 target genes (e.g., PUMA, a pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family) are overexpressed in HIV-1 carriers; (iii) in vitro, p53 and/or PUMA are rate-limiting for the induction of cell death by HIV-1 infection or, in particular, by the HIV-1 Envelope (Env), in a variety of model systems, including the apoptosis of syncytia elicited by Env or cell death induced by the Env constituent gp120. Thus, p53 may constitute a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of AIDS.

Published 3 May 2005 in Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 331(3): 701-6.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 HIV Research Today. All Rights Reserved.