p53 family members — important messengers in cell death signaling in photodynamic therapy of cancer?

• Published in: Photochemical & photobiological sciences Vol. 14; no. 8; pp. 1389 - 1396
• Main Authors: Acedo, Pilar, Zawacka-Pankau, Joanna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.01.2015
• Subjects: Animals; Biochemistry; Biomaterials; Cell Death - drug effects; Cell Death - physiology; Cell Death - radiation effects; Chemistry; Humans; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neoplasms - metabolism; Perspective; Photochemotherapy; Physical Chemistry; Plant Sciences; Signal Transduction; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 - metabolism
• ISSN: 1474-905X; 1474-9092; 1474-9092
• DOI: 10.1039/c5pp00251f

TP 53 is one of the genes most frequently inactivated in cancers. Mutations in TP 53 gene are linked to worse prognosis and shorter overall survival of cancer patients. TP 53 encodes a critical tumor suppressor, which dictates cell fate decisions upon stress stimuli. As a sensor of cellular stress, p53 is a relevant messenger of cell death signaling in ROS-driven photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer. The significant role of p53 in response to PDT has been reported for several clinically approved photosensitizers. Multiple reports described that wild-type p53 contributes to cell killing upon photodynamic therapy with clinically approved photosensitizers but the mechanism is still not fully understood. This work outlines the diverse functions of p53 family members in cancer cells’ susceptibility and resistance to PDT. In summary p53 and p53 family members are emerging as important mediators of cell death signaling in photodynamic therapy of cancer, however the mechanism of cell death provoked during PDT might differ depending on the tissue type and the photosensitizer applied.