p63 is a p53 homolog that is expressed in various normal epithelial tissues and epithelial malignancies. Its expression in mesenchymal lesions has not been examined in depth; therefore, we studied p63 expression by immunohistochemical analysis in 650 soft tissue tumors. We found that p63 expression is limited in soft tissue tumors. The majority of tumors studied were p63-, including all cases o...

The p63 protein plays a key role in regulating human keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation. Although some p63-regulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified in the control of epidermal homeostasis, little is known about miRNAs acting downstream of p63. In this paper, we characterized multiple p63-regulated miRNAs (miR-17, miR-20b, miR-30a, miR-106a, miR-143 and miR-455-3p) and eluc...

Apoptosis of testicular germ cells during fetal development is regulated by both p53-dependent and independent mechanisms. However, its precise mechanisms are largely unknown. A member of p53 gene family, p63, is required for p53-dependent apoptosis and can induce apoptosis in the absence of p53 through the activation of p53-target genes. In this study, we examined the expression pattern of p63...

Cleft palate is a common congenital disorder that affects up to 1 in 2500 live births and results in considerable morbidity to affected individuals and their families. The aetiology of cleft palate is complex with both genetic and environmental factors implicated. Mutations in the transcription factor p63 are one of the major individual causes of cleft palate; however, the gene regulatory netwo...

Squamous cell differentiation (SCD) may occur in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) only at metastatic sites. We have studied cytokeratin CK5/6 and P63 along with TTF1 (thyroid transcription factor 1)  and B-Raf (V-Raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1) immunohistochemical expression in neck lymph node metastases of thyroid PTC showing SCD. The patient (21-years) presented wit...

Heterozygous mutations in the transcription factor gene p63 are causative for several syndromes, with ectodermal dysplasia, orofacial clefting and limb malformations as the key characteristics. Different combinations of these features are seen in five different syndromes, of which ectrodactyly, ectodermal dysplasia and cleft lip/palate syndrome (EEC) is the most common one. Mutations in p63 can...

Prostatic adenocarcinoma with aberrant diffuse expression of p63 (p63-PCa) is a recently described variant of prostatic adenocarcinoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical and pathologic features of p63-PCa at radical prostatectomy (RP). We reviewed 21 cases of p63-PCa diagnosed on needle biopsy at subsequent RP. Immunohistochemical analysis for PIN4 and Ki-67 was performed in...

p53 and its related genes, p63 and p73 constitute the p53 gene family. While p53 is the most frequently mutated gene in human tumors, p63 and p73 are rarely mutated or deleted in cancers. Many studies have reported p63/p73 overexpression in human cancers while others showed that a loss of p63/p73 is associated with tumor progression and metastasis. Thus, whether p63 or p73 is a tumor suppressor...

BACKGROUND Keratocystic odontogenic tumors (KCOTSs) are odontogenic tumors previously referred to as odontogenic keratocysts. Several studies have reported that KCOT behavior is more like that of a benign neoplasm than a cyst. KCOTs are locally destructive and exhibit a high recurrence rate. The objective of this study is to characterize the expression of p53, p63 and p73 in KCOTs together with...

The p51/p63 gene is a homologue of p53, the product of which acts as a transcriptional activator by binding to p53-responsive elements in the promoter regions of several p53 downstream genes. Recently, we identified four distinct mutations in the p51/p63 gene after screening >200 human tumors and cell lines. Because all of the detected p51/p63 mutations were missense mutations, the pathogenic e...