The p53, p63 and p73 proteins belong to the p53 family of transcription factors, playing key roles in tumour suppression. The α-splice variant of p73 (p73α) has at its C terminus a sterile alpha motif (SAM); this domain, SAMp73, formed by five helices (α1 to α5), is thought to mediate in protein-protein interactions. The E3-ligase MDM2 binds to p73 at its N terminus transactivation domain (TA), but it does not promote its degradation via ubiquitination; however, the details of such MDM2/p73 interaction are not fully known.
The p53, p63 and p73 proteins belong to the p53 family of transcription factors, playing key roles in tumour suppression. The α-splice variant of p73 (p73α) has at its C terminus a sterile alpha motif (SAM); this domain, SAMp73, formed by five helices (α1 to α5), is thought to mediate in protein-protein interactions. The E3-ligase MDM2 binds to p73 at its N terminus transactivation domain (TA), but it does not promote its degradation via ubiquitination; however, the details of such MDM2/p73 interaction are not fully known.