Functions of the Tumor Suppressors p53 and Rb in Actin Cytoskeleton Remodeling

Abstract

Mechanical microenvironments, such as extracellular matrix stiffness and strain, have crucial roles in cancer progression. Cells sense their microenvironments with mechanosensing biomolecules, which is accompanied by the modulation of actin cytoskeleton structures, and the signals are subsequently transduced downstream as biochemical signals. The tumor suppressors p53 and retinoblastoma protein (Rb) are known to prevent cancer progression. The p53 and Rb signaling pathways are disrupted in many types of cancers. Here, we review recent findings about the roles of these tumor suppressors in the regulation of mechanosensing biomolecules and the actin cytoskeleton. We further discuss how dysfunction in the p53- and/or Rb-mediated mechanosignaling pathways is potentially involved in cancer progression. These pathways might provide good targets for developing anticancer therapies.