P53 Functions

There are many different genes that play a role in the understanding of cancer, and one of the most important of these genes is p53. P53 is a tumor suppressor gene, a gene that has the ability to prevent cancer but not allowing the cell to divide (Weinberg 2014). P53 is considered the “guardian of the genome” due to its variety of functions that are crucial for regular cell life cycles, and can prevent cancer (Weinberg 2014). Some of the functions of p53 include regulation of apoptosis, inducing cell-growth arrest, and activation of DNA repair proteins when the cellular DNA is damaged (Weinberg). Due to the majority of these functions preventing cancer and protecting the genome, one can see where the title “guardian of the genome” was derived from (Weinberg 2014).
P53 is a major tumor suppressor gene that has been observed in mutant forms in more than half of cancers found in humans. P53 is the most studied gene in the history of cancer biology and research. P53 was originally discovered by experiments and studies done on SV40- trans formed cells (Weinberg 2014). In humans, the p53 gene is located on the short arm of chromosome 17. Its coding sequence demonstrates high conservation in vertebrates specifically at exons 2,
If the cell is put into cellular arrest the cell cycle stops, and p53 can determine if the cell is reparable or if it should be terminated (Weinberg 2014). P53 has the ability to stop the cell cycle at the G1/G2 points and in S phase. These stop or check points allow the cell some additional time to repair any damage that might have been done to the DNA before the cell enters the M phase for mitosis (Weinberg 2014). If the cell is tagged for termination the cell will then undergo apoptosis, and that is the end of that cell. If there is something wrong with the cellular DNA p53 may decide to repair the DNA (Weinberg