p53 in health and disease

Abstract

P53 is an important tumour-suppressor protein that is altered in most cancers. p53 activates various responses, including cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. Each of these appears to contribute to tumour suppression. p53 responds to both acute stress, such as genotoxic stress and the activation of oncogenes, and constitutive stress induced by factors such as hypoxia or starvation stress. Each of these can contribute to tumour development. In addition to tumour suppression, p53 can also have a role in normal development, during which loss of p53 can be detrimental. The activation of p53 can have undesirable effects that might contribute to diseases such as neurodegenerative syndromes and also to the ageing process in an organism.