Caspase-2 is an evolutionarily conserved caspase, yet its biological function and cleavage targets are poorly understood. Caspase-2 is activated by the p53 target gene product PIDD (also known as LRDD) in a complex called the Caspase-2-PIDDosome. We show that PIDD expression promotes growth arrest and chemotherapy resistance by a mechanism that depends on Caspase-2 and wild-type p53. PIDD-induced Caspase-2 directly cleaves the E3 ubiquitin ligase Mdm2 at Asp 367, leading to loss of the C-terminal RING domain responsible for p53 ubiquitination. As a consequence, N-terminally truncated Mdm2 binds p53 and promotes its stability. Upon DNA damage, p53 induction of the Caspase-2-PIDDosome creates a positive feedback loop that inhibits Mdm2 and reinforces p53 stability and activity, contributing to cell survival and drug resistance. These data establish Mdm2 as a cleavage target of Caspase-2 and provide insight into a mechanism of Mdm2 inhibition that impacts p53 dynamics upon genotoxic stress.
Freddy Radtke, Nadine Fournier, Etienne Meylan, Justine Pascual, Amber Dawn Bowler, Anita Bodac, Vincent Roh
Andrea Ablasser, Baptiste Claude André Guey, Jonathan Jean-Pierre Ricci, Chong Liu, Pauline Ambre Melenec, Pengbiao Xu, Lingyun Li, Ying Liu