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Yeast As a Chassis for Developing Functional Assays to Study Human P53
14:57

Yeast As a Chassis for Developing Functional Assays to Study Human P53

Published on: August 4, 2019

Eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1-alpha 1 inhibits p53 and p73 dependent apoptosis and chemotherapy

Alvaro Blanch1, Fiona Robinson, Ian R Watson

  • 1Department of Paediatrics and Cell Biology Program, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Plos One
|June 27, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1-alpha 1 (eEF1A1) interacts with p53 and p73, inhibiting apoptosis and causing chemoresistance. Silencing eEF1A1 enhances chemotherapy sensitivity, revealing a new target for cancer treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cancer Biology
  • Cell Death Pathways

Background:

  • The p53 family of transcription factors are critical regulators of cell proliferation and apoptosis.
  • Eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1-alpha 1 (eEF1A1) has known roles in translation and emerging translation-independent functions in cancer.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify novel interacting proteins of the p53 family.
  • To investigate the role of eEF1A1 in p53- and p73-mediated apoptosis and chemoresistance.

Main Methods:

  • Co-immunoprecipitation to identify protein interactions.
  • Overexpression and short-interfering RNA (siRNA) silencing of eEF1A1 in cancer cell lines.
  • Assessment of apoptosis induction and chemosensitivity.
  • Analysis of p53 and p73 activity.

Main Results:

  • eEF1A1 was identified as a novel interacting protein of p53 and p73.
  • Overexpression of eEF1A1 inhibited p53-, p73-, and chemotherapy-induced apoptosis, leading to chemoresistance.
  • Silencing eEF1A1 increased chemosensitivity in cells with wild-type p53 but not in p53-null cells.
  • eEF1A1 silencing partially rescued chemoresistance in p53 or p73 knockdown cells, indicating eEF1A1 is a negative regulator of p53/p73 pro-apoptotic functions.

Conclusions:

  • eEF1A1 possesses anti-apoptotic properties within the context of p53-family signaling.
  • eEF1A1 represents a novel mechanism regulating p53 family proteins.
  • Targeting eEF1A1 could sensitize tumors to chemotherapy by modulating p53-family-mediated apoptosis.

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