Living Beyond Restriction: LBR promotes cellular immortalization by suppressing genomic instability and senescence

Abstract

Cellular immortalization is a complex process that requires multiple genetic alterations to overcome restricting barriers, including senescence. Not surprisingly, many of these alterations are associated with cancer; two tumor suppressor pathways, the cellular tumor antigen p53 and p16‐Retinoblastoma (RB) pathways, are the best‐characterized examples, but their mutations alone are known to be insufficient to drive full immortalization. En et al. identified a role for the lamin B receptor (LBR) in promoting cellular proliferation and immortalization in p53‐ and RB‐deficient cells by maintaining their genome integrity and suppressing senescence. Thus, modulation of LBR could be exploited to treat cancer and potentially also to promote cell rejuvenation.