[The tumor supressor gene p53].

Abstract

p53 is known as a tumor suppressor gene important for maintenance of genomic integrity. p53 is a short lived protein that is maintained at very low levels in cells. p53 is regulated by Mdm2 protein which participate in p53 rapid degradation. The activation and accumulation of p53 is a response to cellular stress such as DNA damage. Activated p53 is a sequence specific DNA-binding transcription factor and some target genes of its transcriptional activity are important for cell-cycle arrest or for inducing apoptosis. p53 is also used for cancer therapy by p53 gene therapy when p53 is applied into tumors or by reactivation of mutant p53.