A novel role for 1GF-1R in p53-mediated apoptosis through translational modulation of the p53-Mdm2 feedback loop

Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF- 1 R) is important in cancer cell growth and survival and has been implicated in cancer pathophysiology and treatment. Here we report a novel function for IGF- I R in p53-dependent apoptotic response. We show that inhibition or loss of 1GF-IR activity reduces translational synthesis of p53 and Mdm2 protein. Notably, 1GF-1R inhibition increases p53 protein stability by reducing p53 ubiquitination and maintains p53 at low levels by decreasing p53 synthesis, thus rendering p53 insensitive to stabilization after DNA damage. The accumulation and apoptosis of DNA-clamage-induced p53 is therefore reduced in lgf-1r(-/-) mouse embryonic fibroblasts or tumor cells treated with the 1GF-IR inhibitor. Furthermore, we find that inhibition of 1GF-1R reduces p53 and Mdm2 translation through a gene-specific mechanism mediated by the respective 5' untranslated region of p53 and mdm2 messenger RNA. The eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4F complex is also involved in this translational inhibition. These results demonstrate an unexpected role for translational control by 1GF-1R in p53-mediated apoptosis.