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P53 gene
The p53 gene is a gene that codes for a protein for tumor suppression. It is very important for cells in multicellular organisms[?] to suppress uncontrolled cell division. More than 50% of tumors in humans show a mutation or deletion[?] of the p53 gene.
Protein structure The p53 protein consists of three units (or domains):
- A domain that activates transcription factors.
- A domain that recognizes specific DNA sequences.
- A domain that recognized damaged DNA, such as misaligned base pairs or single-stranded DNA.
Mechanism The p53 protein can regulate the cell in several ways:
- It can activate DNA repair[?] proteins when it recognizes damaged DNA.
- It can also hold the cell cycle at the G1/S regulation point on DNA damage recognition.
- It can initiate apoptosis, the programmed cell death, if the DNA damage proves to be irrepairable.
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