Abstract
Discovered in 1987 and 1997 respectively, Mdm2 and MdmX represent two critical cellular regulators of the p53 tumor suppressor. This chapter reviews each from initial discovery to our current understanding of their deregulation in human cancer with a focus on how each regulator impacts p53 function. While p53 independent activities of Mdm2 and MdmX are noted the reader is directed to other reviews on this topic. The chapter concludes with an examination of the various mechanisms of Mdm-deregulation and an assessment of the current therapeutic approaches to target Mdm2 and MdmX overexpression.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arai Y et al (2010) Genome-wide analysis of allelic imbalances reveals 4q deletions as a poor prognostic factor and MDM4 amplification at 1q32.1 in hepatoblastoma. Genes Chromosom Cancer 49(7):596–609
Barak Y et al (1993) mdm2 expression is induced by wild type p53 activity. EMBO J 12(2):461–468
Bartel F et al (2004) MDM2 and its splice variant messenger RNAs: expression in tumors and down-regulation using antisense oligonucleotides. Mol Cancer Res 2(1):29–35
Bartel F et al (2004) HDMX amplification and high levels of HDMX-S splice variant are correlated with a poor prognosis in soft tissue sarcomas. Verh Dtsch Ges Pathol 88:199–206
Bartel F et al (2005) Significance of HDMX-S (or MDM4) mRNA splice variant overexpression and HDMX gene amplification on primary soft tissue sarcoma prognosis. Int J Cancer 117(3):469–475
Boesten LS et al (2006) Mdm2, but not Mdm4, protects terminally differentiated smooth muscle cells from p53-mediated caspase-3-independent cell death. Cell Death Differ 13(12):2089–2098
Bommer GT et al (2007) p53-mediated activation of miRNA34 candidate tumor-suppressor genes. Curr Biol 17(15):1298–1307
Bond GL et al (2006) MDM2 SNP309 accelerates tumor formation in a gender-specific and hormone-dependent manner. Cancer Res 66(10):5104–5110
Bond GL et al (2004) A single nucleotide polymorphism in the MDM2 promoter attenuates the p53 tumor suppressor pathway and accelerates tumor formation in humans. Cell 119(5):591–602
Bond GL et al (2005) A single nucleotide polymorphism in the MDM2 gene: from a molecular and cellular explanation to clinical effect. Cancer Res 65(13):5481–5484
Bottger V et al (1999) Comparative study of the p53-mdm2 and p53-MDMX interfaces. Oncogene 18:189–199
Brown DR et al (1998) The human oncoprotein MDM2 arrests the cell cycle: elimination of its cell-cycle-inhibitory function induces tumorigenesis. EMBO J 17(9):2513–2525
Cahilly-Snyder L et al (1987) Molecular analysis and chromosomal mapping of amplified genes isolated from a transformed mouse 3T3 cell line. Somat Cell Mol Genet 13(3):235–244
Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network (2008) Comprehensive genomic characterization defines human glioblastoma genes and core pathways. Nature 455(7216):1061–1068
Capoulade C et al (1998) Overexpression of MDM2, due to enhanced translation, results in inactivation of wild-type p53 in Burkitt’s lymphoma cells. Oncogene 16(12):1603–1610
Chang TC et al (2007) Transactivation of miR-34a by p53 broadly influences gene expression and promotes apoptosis. Mol Cell 26(5):745–752
Cordon CC et al (1994) Molecular abnormalities of mdm2 and p53 genes in adult soft tissue. Cancer Res 54(3):794–799
Dang J et al (2002) The RING domain of Mdm2 can inhibit cell proliferation. Cancer Res 62(4):1222–1230
Danovi D et al (2004) Amplification of Mdmx (or Mdm4) directly contributes to tumor formation by inhibiting p53 tumor suppressor activity. Mol Cell Biol 24(13):5835–5843
De Clercq S et al (2010) Widespread overexpression of epitope-tagged Mdm4 does not accelerate tumor formation in vivo. Mol Cell Biol 30(22):5394–5405
de Graaf P et al (2003) Hdmx protein stability is regulated by the ubiquitin ligase activity of Mdm2. J Biol Chem 278(40):38315–38324
de Oliveira Reis AH et al (2012) Influence of MDM2 and MDM4 on development and survival in hereditary retinoblastoma. Pediatr Blood Cancer 59(1):39–43
de Rozieres S et al (2000) The loss of mdm2 induces p53-mediated apoptosis. Oncogene 19(13):1691–1697
el-Deiry WS et al (1993) WAF1, a potential mediator of p53 tumor suppression. Cell 75(4):817–825
Evans SC et al (2001) An alternatively spliced HDM2 product increases p53 activity by inhibiting HDM2. Oncogene 20(30):4041–4049
Fakharzadeh SS et al (1991) Tumorigenic potential associated with enhanced expression of a gene that is amplified in a mouse tumor cell line. EMBO J 10(6):1565–1569
Finch RA et al (2002) mdmx is a negative regulator of p53 activity in vivo. Cancer Res 62(11):3221–3225
Finlay CA (1993) The mdm-2 oncogene can overcome wild-type p53 suppression of transformed cell growth. Mol Cell Biol 13(1):301–306
Francoz S et al (2006) Mdm4 and Mdm2 cooperate to inhibit p53 activity in proliferating and quiescent cells in vivo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103(9):3232–3237
Garcia D et al (2011) Validation of MdmX as a therapeutic target for reactivating p53 in tumors. Genes Dev 25(16):1746–1757
Gembarska A et al (2012) MDM4 is a key therapeutic target in cutaneous melanoma. Nat Med 18:1239–1247
Gilkes DM et al (2008) Regulation of MDMX expression by mitogenic signaling. Mol Cell Biol 28(6):1999–2010
Graves B et al (2012) Activation of the p53 pathway by small-molecule-induced MDM2 and MDMX dimerization. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 109(29):11788–11793
Grier JD et al (2006) Tissue-specific differences of p53 inhibition by Mdm2 and Mdm4. Mol Cell Biol 26(1):192–198
Guo Y et al (2008) Expression of p14ARF, MDM2, and MDM4 in human retinoblastoma. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 375(1):1–5
Han X et al (2007) HDM4 (HDMX) is widely expressed in adult pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia and is a potential therapeutic target. Mod Pathol 20(1):54–62
Haupt Y et al (1997) Mdm2 promotes the rapid degradation of p53. Nature 387(6630):296–299
He L et al (2007) A microRNA component of the p53 tumour suppressor network. Nature 447(7148):1130–1134
Hollstein M et al (1994) Database of p53 gene somatic mutations in human tumors and cell lines. Nucleic Acids Res 22(17):3551–3555
Hu B et al (2006) MDMX overexpression prevents P53 activation by the MDM2 inhibitor nutlin. J Biol Chem 281:33030–33035
Jackson MW, Berberich SJ (1999) Constitutive mdmx expression during cell growth, differentiation, and DNA damage. DNA Cell Biol 18(9):693–700
Jackson MW, Berberich SJ (2000) MdmX protects p53 from Mdm2-mediated degradation. Mol Cell Biol 20(3):1001–1007
Jones SN et al (1998) Overexpression of Mdm2 in mice reveals a p53-independent role for Mdm2 in tumorigenesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 95(26):15608–15612
Jones SN et al (1995) Rescue of embryonic lethality in Mdm2-deficient mice by absence of p53. Nature 378:206–208
Juven T et al (1993) Wild type p53 can mediate sequence-specific transactivation of an internal promoter within the mdm2 gene. Oncogene 8(12):3411–3416
Kawai H et al (2003) DNA damage-induced MDMX degradation is mediated by MDM2. J Biol Chem 278(46):45946–45953
Kojima K et al (2010) The novel tryptamine derivative JNJ-26854165 induces wild-type p53- and E2F1-mediated apoptosis in acute myeloid and lymphoid leukemias. Mol Cancer Ther 9(9):2545–2557
Kranz D, Dobbelstein M (2006) Nongenotoxic p53 activation protects cells against S-phase-specific chemotherapy. Cancer Res 66(21):10274–10280
Kubbutat MH et al (1997) Regulation of p53 stability by Mdm2. Nature 387(6630):299–303
Kussie PH et al (1996) Structure of the MDM2 oncoprotein bound to the p53 tumor suppressor transactivation domain. Science 274(5289):948–953
Landers JE et al (1997) Translational enhancement of mdm2 oncogene expression in human tumor cells containing a stabilized wild-type p53 protein. Cancer Res 57(16):3562
Landers JE et al (1994) Enhanced translation: a novel mechanism of mdm2 oncogene overexpression identified in human tumor cells. Oncogene 9(9):2745–2750
Lane D, Levine A (2010) p53 research: the past thirty years and the next thirty years. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2(12):a000893
Laurie NA et al (2006) Inactivation of the p53 pathway in retinoblastoma. Nature 444(7115):61–66
Lenos K et al (2011) Oncogenic functions of hMDMX in in vitro transformation of primary human fibroblasts and embryonic retinoblasts. Mol Cancer 10:111
Lenos K et al (2012) Alternate splicing of the p53 inhibitor HDMX offers a superior prognostic biomarker than p53 mutation in human cancer. Cancer Res 72(16):4074–4084
Li Q, Lozano G (2012) Molecular pathways: targeting Mdm2 and Mdm4 in cancer therapy. Clin Cancer Res 19:34–41
Liang M et al (2010) HDM4 is overexpressed in mantle cell lymphoma and its inhibition induces p21 expression and apoptosis. Mod Pathol 23(3):381–391
Linares LK et al (2003) HdmX stimulates Hdm2-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of p53. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 100(21):12009–12014
Linzer DIH, Levine AJ (1979) Characterization of a 54 K dalton cellular SV40 tumor antigen present in SV40-transformed cells and uninfected embryonal carcinoma cells. Cell 17:43–52
Lundgren K et al (1997) Targeted expression of MDM2 uncouples S phase from mitosis and inhibits mammary gland development independent of p53. Genes Dev 11(6):714–725
Mandke P et al (2012) MicroRNA-34a modulates MDM4 expression via a target site in the open reading frame. PLoS One 7(8):e42034
Marine JC (2011) MDM2 and MDMX in cancer and development. Curr Top Dev Biol 94:45–75
Markey M, Berberich SJ (2008) Full-length hdmX transcripts decrease following genotoxic stress. Oncogene 27(52):6657–6666
Matijasevic Z et al (2008) MdmX regulates transformation and chromosomal stability in p53-deficient cells. Cell Cycle 7(19):2967–2973
Matijasevic Z et al (2008) MdmX promotes bipolar mitosis to suppress transformation and tumorigenesis in p53-deficient cells and mice. Mol Cell Biol 28(4):1265–1273
Mayo LD, Donner DB (2001) A phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway promotes translocation of Mdm2 from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 98(20):11598–11603
Melo AN, Eischen CM (2012) Protecting the genome from mdm2 and mdmx. Genes Cancer 3(3–4):283–290
Migliorini D et al (2002) Mdm4 (Mdmx) regulates p53-induced growth arrest and neuronal cell death during early embryonic mouse development. Mol Cell Biol 22(15):5527–5538
Momand J et al (1998) The MDM2 gene amplification database. Nucleic Acids Res 26(15):3453–3459
Momand J et al (1992) The mdm-2 oncogene product forms a complex with the p53 protein and inhibits p53-mediated transactivation. Cell 69(7):1237–1245
Montes de Oca Luna R et al (1997) Deletion of p21 cannot substitute for p53 loss in rescue of mdm2 null lethality. Nat Genet 16(3):336–337
Montes de Oca Luna R et al (1995) Rescue of early embryonic lethality in mdm2-deficient mice by deletion of p53. Nature 378:203–206
Okoro DR et al (2012) Splicing up mdm2 for cancer proteome diversity. Genes Cancer 3(3–4):311–319
Oliner JD et al (1992) Amplification of a gene encoding a p53-associated protein in human sarcomas. Nature 358(6381):80–83
Otto A, Deppert W (1993) Upregulation of mdm-2 expression in meth A tumor cells tolerating wild-type p53. Oncogene 8:2591–2603
Pan Y, Chen J (2003) MDM2 promotes ubiquitination and degradation of MDMX. Mol Cell Biol 23(15):5113–5121
Parant J et al (2001) Rescue of embryonic lethality in Mdm4-null mice by loss of Trp53 suggests a nonoverlapping pathway with MDM2 to regulate p53. Nat Genet 29(1):92–95
Patterson H et al (1997) Amplification and over-expression of the MDM2 gene in human soft tissue tumours. Sarcoma 1(1):17–22
Perry ME et al (1993) The mdm-2 gene is induced in response to UV light in a p53-dependent. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 90(24):11623–11627
Phillips A et al (2010) HDMX-L is expressed from a functional p53-responsive promoter in the first intron of the HDMX gene and participates in an autoregulatory feedback loop to control p53 activity. J Biol Chem 285(38):29111–29127
Post SM et al (2010) A high-frequency regulatory polymorphism in the p53 pathway accelerates tumor development. Cancer Cell 18(3):220–230
Prodosmo A et al (2008) Analysis of human MDM4 variants in papillary thyroid carcinomas reveals new potential markers of cancer properties. J Mol Med (Berl) 86(5):585–596
Reed D et al (2010) Identification and characterization of the first small molecule inhibitor of MDMX. J Biol Chem 285(14):10786–10796
Riemenschneider MJ et al (1999) Amplification and overexpression of the MDM4 (MDMX) gene from 1q32 in a subset of malignant gliomas without TP53 mutation or MDM2 amplification. Cancer Res 59(24):6091–6096
Riemenschneider MJ et al (2003) Refined mapping of 1q32 amplicons in malignant gliomas confirms MDM4 as the main amplification target. Int J Cancer 104(6):752–757
Roxburgh P et al (2012) Small molecules that bind the Mdm2 RING stabilize and activate p53. Carcinogenesis 33(4):791–798
Senturk E, Manfredi JJ (2012) Mdm2 and tumorigenesis: evolving theories and unsolved mysteries. Genes Cancer 3(3–4):192–198
Shvarts A et al (1997) Isolation and identification of the human homolog of a new p53-binding protein, Mdmx. Genomics 43(1):34
Shvarts A et al (1996) MDMX: a novel p53-binding protein with some functional properties of MDM2. EMBO J 15(19):5349–5357
Snyder LC, Trusko SP, Freeman N, Eshleman JR, Fakharzadeh SS, George DL (1988) A gene amplified in a transformed mouse cell line undergoes complex transcriptional processing and encodes a nuclear protein. J Biol Chem 263:17150–17158
Stad R et al (2001) Mdmx stabilizes p53 and Mdm2 via two distinct mechanisms. EMBO Rep 2(11):1029–1034
Stad R et al (2000) Hdmx stabilizes Mdm2 and p53. J Biol Chem 275(36):28039–28044
Tanimura S et al (1999) MDM2 interacts with MDMX through their RING finger domains [In Process Citation]. FEBS Lett 447(1):5–9
Valentin-Vega YA et al (2007) High levels of the p53 inhibitor MDM4 in head and neck squamous carcinomas. Hum Pathol 38(10):1553–1562
Valentin-Vega YA et al (2009) Mdm4 loss in the intestinal epithelium leads to compartmentalized cell death but no tissue abnormalities. Differentiation 77(5):442–449
Vassilev LT et al (2004) In vivo activation of the p53 pathway by small-molecule antagonists of MDM2. Science 303(5659):844–848
Veerakumarasivam A et al (2008) High-resolution array-based comparative genomic hybridization of bladder cancers identifies mouse double minute 4 (MDM4) as an amplification target exclusive of MDM2 and TP53. Clin Cancer Res 14(9):2527–2534
Wade M et al (2012) MDM2, MDMX and p53 in oncogenesis and cancer therapy. Nat Rev Cancer 13(2):83–96
Wade M et al (2010) The p53 orchestra: Mdm2 and Mdmx set the tone. Trends Cell Biol 20(5):299–309
Wade M et al (2006) Hdmx modulates the outcome of p53 activation in human tumor cells. J Biol Chem 281(44):33036–33044
Watanabe T et al (1994) The MDM2 oncogene overexpression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and low-grade lymphoma of B-cell origin. Blood 84(9):3158–3165
Xiong S et al (2010) Spontaneous tumorigenesis in mice overexpressing the p53-negative regulator Mdm4. Cancer Res 70(18):7148–7154
Xiong S et al (2006) Synergistic roles of Mdm2 and Mdm4 for p53 inhibition in central nervous system development. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103(9):3226–3231
Yang Y et al (2005) Small molecule inhibitors of HDM2 ubiquitin ligase activity stabilize and activate p53 in cells. Cancer Cell 7(6):547–559
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Berberich, S.J. (2014). Mdm2 and MdmX Involvement in Human Cancer. In: Deb, S., Deb, S. (eds) Mutant p53 and MDM2 in Cancer. Subcellular Biochemistry, vol 85. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9211-0_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9211-0_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-017-9210-3
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-9211-0
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)