New findings on the genomic guardian - p53 protein

The p53 protein routinely shuts down damaged cells and is one of our main lines of defence against cancer. Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now present new findings on how p53 carries out this all-important function. The p53 transcription factor is found in every cell of the body, where it helps to prevent cancer by activating and deactivating the right genes. When the cell is exposed to potentially carcinogenic stress, such as DNA damage or oxygen deficiency, p53 can, for example, switch on the genetic programme for cell death, preventing the cancer from spreading to the rest of the body. Almost half of all cancer tumours involve a mutation of the gene for p53, and in the hope of developing new cancer therapies, many cancer researchers study the mechanisms the protein controls..... read more "www.alphagalileo.org":[ http://www.alphagalileo.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=readrelease&releaseid=519126&ez_search=1]

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