p53 induction prevents accumulation of aberrant transcripts in cancer cells.

Loss of fidelity of the splicing process occurs during tumor progression and can have a deleterious effect on genes like tumor suppressor genes. It was reported recently that the presence of aberrant transcripts of the TSG101 gene in breast cancer cells was associated with the mutation of the p53 tumor suppressor gene. On the basis of this observation, we have analyzed TSG101 transcript patterns in p53-active and p53-inactive cells. Using several isogenic cellular models, we demonstrate that the induction of p53 in cancer cells leads to a significant decrease of aberrant transcripts levels. This indicates a novel implication of p53 in the regulation of the splicing process.