ASPP2

We now know that ASPP2 is a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor

and an important activator of p53 during mouse development and tumor

suppression in vivo. ASPP2 might be a novel target for future cancer

therapy.

The fundamental role of apoptosis in tumor prevention and the important

role of p53 in this process are now universally recognized. Recently,

several families of p53-binding proteins have been shown to influence

p53's decision to direct the cells either in the apoptotic pathway or

in cell cycle arrest. Among them, the ASPP family specifically regulate

p53-dependent apoptosis. Its member ASPP2 was discovered more than 10

years ago as a binding partner of p53 and its role as a positive

regulator of p53 mediated apoptosis has been clearly established in

vitro. However, its physiological importance in vivo has just emerged

through the generation and characterisation of the ASPP2-deficient

mice.