Mdm2

Mouse double minute 2 homolog (MDM2) also known as E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase Mdm2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MDM2 gene. Mdm2 is an important negative regulator of the p53 tumor suppressor. Mdm2 protein functions both as an E3 ubiquitin ligase that recognizes the N-terminal trans-activation domain (TAD) of the p53 tumor suppressor and an inhibitor of p53 transcriptional activation.

Discovery and expression in tumor cells

The murine double minute (mdm2) oncogene, which codes for the Mdm2 protein, was originally cloned, along with two other genes (mdm1 and mdm3) from the transformed mouse cell line 3T3-DM. Mdm2 overexpression, in cooperation with oncogenic Ras, promotes transformation of primary rodent fibroblasts, and mdm2 expression led to tumor formation in nude mice. The human homologue of this protein was later identified and is sometimes called Hdm2. Further supporting the role of mdm2 as an oncogene, several human tumor types have been shown to have increased levels of Mdm2, including soft tissue sarcomas and osteosarcomas as well as breast tumors. The MDM2 oncoprotein ubiquitinates and antagonizes p53 but may also carry out p53-independent functions. MDM2 supports the Polycomb-mediated repression of lineage-specific genes, independent of p53. MDM2 depletion in the absence of p53 promoted the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells and diminished clonogenic survival of cancer cells. Most of the MDM2-controlled genes also responded to the inactivation of the Polycomb Repressor Complex 2 (PRC2) and its catalytic component EZH2. MDM2 physically associated with EZH2 on chromatin, enhancing the trimethylation of histone 3 at lysine 27 and the ubiquitination of histone 2A at lysine 119 (H2AK119) at its target genes. Removing MDM2 simultaneously with the H2AK119 E3 ligase Ring1B/RNF2 further induced these genes and synthetically arrested cell proliferation.