[The structure and cellular regulation of p73: their implication in anticancer therapy]

p73 protein belongs, together with p63, to the p53 family. It is a relatively poorly studied structural and functional homolog of the well-described tumor suppressor protein p53, also known as the guardian of the genome. p73 protein, like p53, becomes activated by, for example, DNA damaging agents and it targets the same promoter sequences as p53. Both proteins participate in pathways of signal transduction whose activation leads to apoptosis induction or cell-cycle arrest. Studies concerning anticancer treatment focusing on the activation of p53 have been carried out extensively for about 10 years. It appears that a similar therapeutic strategy can be successfully applied in p73 activation as well. Unlike the TP53 gene, the gene encoding p73 protein is rarely mutated in tumors although the protein is found to be inactive. This can become very useful when designing molecules which will selectively activate p73 and consequently induce cancer-cell death. The aim of the present study was to describe in detail the structure, function, as well as cellular regulation of p73 in light of its therapeutic potential.