GCOE Program Seminar (Global Education Seminar)"The role of Chk2 and p53 in stem cell aging induced by telomere dysfunction"

The ATM-Chk2-p53-p21 pathway represents a central response to DNA damage. In previous work we have shown that deletion p21 can improve stem cell function and prolong lifespan of telomere dysfunctional mice. Our current work shows that p53 has a protctive function in aging tissues. p53 deletion accelerates tissue aging by impairing the depletion of damaged stem cells. In addition, our data provide evidence that activation of p53 in stem cell is independent of Chk2, whereas Chk2 is required for p53 activation in response to telomere dysfunction in somatic cells.