PGC1α Confers Specificity—Metabolic Stress and p53-Dependent Transcription

In this issue of Molecular Cell, Sen et al. (2011) report the involvement of PGC1α in modulating the transcriptional activity of p53 in metabolically challenged cells. They provide important insights into the mechanisms linking length and strength of the metabolic stress stimuli to the specific activation of p53 target genes.