Resistance to viral infection of super p53 mice

Induction of expression of the tumor suppressor p53 after interferon treatment has been recently demonstrated (Takaoka et al., 2003), suggesting an antiviral activity of the protein. In addition, a direct correlation between p53 levels and tumor resistance has been addressed by generating mice with an extra copy of p53 ('super p53' mice) (Garcia-Cao et al., 2002). Here, we show that vesicular stomatitis virus replication in mouse embryo fibroblasts derived from 'super p53' mice is impaired as a result of apoptosis induction via p53 activation. These findings unequivocally demonstrate an antiviral activity of p53, a process that may contribute to inhibit the spread of the virus in vivo.