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Updated: Oct 4, 2025

Measurements of Physiological Stress Responses in C. Elegans
Published on: May 21, 2020
The MDM2/MDMX/p53 axis in the adaptive stress response
Bing Wang1,2,3, Cody Rasmussen-Ivey3, John B Little3
1Key Laboratory of Space Radiobiology of Gansu Province & Key Laboratory of Heavy Ion Radiation Biology and Medicine of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Abstract:
Via regulation of cellular stress responses, p53 contributes to the maintenance of homeostasis. Contrary to its well-established pro-death function, p53 is also implicated in promoting cell survival by mediating the adaptive stress response. Emerging data reveal that the adaptive stress response is coupled with p53 decline that is a prerequisite for the induction of pro-survival pathways augmenting cell fitness. However, if the adaptive stress responses persist or become chronic, the sustained p53 downregulation would result in a permanent loss of p53 function and p53-dependent homeostasis. The available information suggests a model in which cells respond to different levels of stress by governing the activity and abundance of p53 that, in turn, determines the cell fate dependent on not only the intensity but also the duration of stress.
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