Double Bolt Regulation of Rad51 by p53: A Role for Transcriptional Repression

The regulation of homologous recombination (HR) by p53 has been currently associated with its non-transactivating function; now the transcriptional repression of the Rad51 gene by p53 has been elucidated. This extra control by p53 involves the transcriptional down-regulation of Rad51 protein, which in turn accounts for the reduction of functional Rad51 foci. Down regulation of Rad51 protein might be relevant, considering that Rad51 is a rate-limiting factor in HR. Moreover, impaired Rad51-repression by p53 mutant proteins may contribute to malignant transformation.