p53 and me

A special protein story

p53: The Basics

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p53 is a tumor suppressor gene located on chromosome 17. It works by creating p53 protein which goes on to bind with DNA. This binding signals another gene to produce a protein called p21. p21 binds with CDK2, which acts as a stopping mechanism for the cell cycle- when p21 and CDK2 are bound to each other, the cell cannot pass into the next phase of its cycle.  Its function is much more complex than this, but for the purposes of trying to fix cancer, this is the most important part.

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How does p53 tie in to cancer?

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The p53 gene is mutated in about half of all tumors, and it has been discovered through years of research that inactivation of p53 is necessary to allow the formation of many different types of cancer. It has an incredibly important function in preventing cancer cells from growing- when mutated it is no longer able to signal other proteins to either stop and repair damaged cells or to end the life of the cell altogether through apoptosis. 

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What does all of this mean?

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While preventing cancer altogether is a task of astronomical proportions, we can at least take a stab at fixing about half of them. By protecting p53 at all costs- either through repair or replacement- we may be able to stop a large number of cancerous cell proliferations by preserving the cells ability to halt the cell cycle and signal cell death when DNA has been badly damaged.

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