Lowe et al. found that in primary human monocytes and macrophages, the transcription factors p53 and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) co-regulate genes that are associated with inflammation, such as interleukin-6 (IL6). Furthermore, tumour cell-derived factors activated p53 in tumour-associated macrophages and induced the expression of IL-6. This may be a tumour-promoting role of p53, in cooperation with NF-κB, but further work is required to understand precisely what effect this has on tumours.
References
Lowe, J. M. et al. p53 and NF-κB coregulate proinflammatory gene responses in human macrophages. Cancer Res. 74, 2182–2192 (2014)
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Alderton, G. p53 takes on a new role in macrophages. Nat Rev Cancer 14, 382 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc3756
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc3756