p73, an important developmental gene, shares a high sequence homology with p53 and
induces both G 1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. However, the molecular mechanisms
through which p73 induces apoptosis are unclear. We found that p73-induced apoptosis is
mediated by PUMA (p53 up-regulated modulator of apoptosis) induction, which, in turn,
causes Bax mitochondrial translocation and cytochrome c release. Overexpression of p73
isoforms promotes cell death and bax promoter transactivation in a time-dependent manner …