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Cancer Resources > Cancer News > Cancer News from Reuters > Reuters Cancer News > 2003 > July
Interferon interacts with p53 to provide defense against cancer and viruses
Last Updated: 2003-07-18 15:03:39 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Interferon-alpha and -beta (IFN-alpha/beta) and p53 are well known molecules involved in tumor suppression and immunity. Now, new study findings provide evidence that these molecules actually work together in the body's defense.
Using a combination of laboratory techniques, Dr. Tadatsugu Taniguchi, from the University of Tokyo, and colleagues show that IFN-alpha/beta can induce transcription of the p53 gene, which leads to a rise in cellular levels of the protein.
The authors found that IFN-alpha/beta did not directly activate p53, but instead augmented the p53 response to stress signals.
IFN signaling was shown to enhance p53-mediated tumor suppression, according to the report published in the July 16th advance online issue of Nature. Moreover, p53 activation was observed in virus-infected cells and was associated with apoptosis.
"Our study reveals a hitherto unrecognized cooperation between p53 and IFN-alpha/beta, providing a new link between tumour suppression and antiviral defense, which may have therapeutic implications," the researchers note.
Nature 2003;July 16th advance online issue:000-000.
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