Recombinant adenoviral vectors can induce expression of p73 via the E4-orf6/7 protein.

Despite the utility of recombinant adenoviral vectors in basic research, their therapeutic promise remains unfulfilled. Most engineered adenoviral vectors use a heterologous promoter to transcribe a foreign gene. We show that adenoviruses containing the cytomegalovirus immediate-early promoter induce the expression of the proapoptotic cellular protein TAp73 via the cyclin-dependent kinase-retinoblastoma protein-E2F pathway in murine embryonic fibroblasts.