Stress sensor Gadd45 genes as therapeutic targets in cancer.

Gadd45 genes have been implicated in stress signaling responses to various physiological or environmental stressors, resulting in cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, cell survival and senescence, or apoptosis. Evidence accumulated up to date suggests that Gadd45 proteins function as stress sensors, mediating their activity through a complex interplay of physical interactions with other cellular proteins that are implicated in cell cycle regulation and the response of cells to stress. These include PCNA, p21, cdc2/cyclinB1, and the p38 and JNK stress response kinases. Disregulated expression of Gadd45 has been observed in multiple types of solid tumors as well as in hematopoietic malignancies. Also, evidence has accumulated that Gadd45 proteins are intrinsically associated with the response of tumor cells to a variety of cancer therapeutic agents. Thus, Gadd45 proteins may represent a novel class of targets for therapeutic intervention in cancer. Additional research is needed to better understand which of the Gadd45 stress response functions may be targeted for chemotherapeutic drug design in cancer therapy.