The p53 family orchestrates the regulation of metabolism: physiological regulation and implications for cancer therapy.

The p53 family of transcription factors is essential to counteract tumour formation and progression. Although previously this was exclusively associated with the ability of the p53 family to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, an increasing number of reports have now indisputably demonstrated that the tumour suppressive functions of the p53 family members also rely on their ability to control and regulate cellular metabolism and maintain cellular oxidative homeostasis. Here, we review how each p53 family member, including p63 and p73, controls metabolic pathways in physiological conditions, and how these mechanisms could be exploited to provide anticancer therapeutic opportunities.