TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kreis, Nina-Naomi
A1  - Louwen, Frank
A1  - Yuan, Juping
T1  - The multifaceted p21 (Cip1/Waf1/CDKN1A) in cell differentiation, migration and cancer therapy
T2  - Cancers
N2  - Loss of cell cycle control is characteristic of tumorigenesis. The protein p21 is the founding member of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors and an important versatile cell cycle protein. p21 is transcriptionally controlled by p53 and p53-independent pathways. Its expression is increased in response to various intra- and extracellular stimuli to arrest the cell cycle ensuring genomic stability. Apart from its roles in cell cycle regulation including mitosis, p21 is involved in differentiation, cell migration, cytoskeletal dynamics, apoptosis, transcription, DNA repair, reprogramming of induced pluripotent stem cells, autophagy and the onset of senescence. p21 acts either as a tumor suppressor or as an oncogene depending largely on the cellular context, its subcellular localization and posttranslational modifications. In the present review, we briefly mention the general functions of p21 and summarize its roles in differentiation, migration and invasion in detail. Finally, regarding its dual role as tumor suppressor and oncogene, we highlight the potential, difficulties and risks of using p21 as a biomarker as well as a therapeutic target.
KW  - p21
KW  - CDKN1A
KW  - differentiation
KW  - migration
KW  - metastasis
KW  - anti-cancer therapy
Y1  - 2019
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/51276
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-512768
SN  - 2072-6694
N1  - This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
VL  - 11
IS  - 9, Art. 1220
SP  - 1
EP  - 23
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  -