Isoprenylcysteine carboxy methyltransferase (ICMT) is associated with tumor aggressiveness and its expression is controlled by the p53 tumor suppressor.

ABSTRACT: Isoprenyl cysteine carboxyl methyltransferase (ICMT) plays a key role in post-translational regulation of prenylated proteins. On the basis of previous results, we hypothesized that the p53 pathway and ICMT expression may be linked in cancer cells. Here, we studied whether WT p53 and cancer-associated p53 point mutants regulate ICMT levels and whether ICMT overexpression affects tumor progression. Studying the effect of p53 variants on ICMT mRNA and protein levels in cancer cells, we found that WT p53 and p53 mutants differentially affect ICMT expression, indicating that p53 status influences ICMT levels in tumors. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, we constructed ICMT-luciferase reporters and found that WT p53 represses ICMT transcription. In contrast, p53 mutants showed a p

SUBMITTER: Borini Etichetti C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6442035 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature