Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P04637 (p53)
 77,613 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Eukaryotic cell cycle progression is controlled by a host of cyclin/cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks), that are themselves regulated by multiple factors, including a group of small cyclin-Cdk inhibitor proteins (p15, p16, p21 and p27). The involvement of Cdk inhibitors in carcinogenesis has been demonstrated by the studies of p16. p53 is frequently mutated in thyroid carcinomas and p21/Waf1 is a downstream effector of p53. It is conceivable that genetic defects of genes downstream in the p53 pathway could also be oncogenic. We, therefore, examined a series of 57 thyroid tumour specimens (eight follicular adenomas and 49 carcinomas) for deletion and point mutation of the p21/Waf1 gene. Three different kinds of deletions ranging from 349 to 450 bp were detected in five papillary carcinoma specimens by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). All the deletions were involved in the second exon of the p21/Waf1 gene. RT-PCR single strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of remaining samples failed to reveal any point mutations in the coding region of the gene, except for a polymorphism at codon 31 (Ser to Arg). Genomic Southern blot analysis did not demonstrate any gene deletion or rearrangement in these samples, indicating abnormal RNA splicing may be involved. Analysis of intron-exon boundary and the coding region of the second exon did not reveal any mutation except for a point mutation (C to G) located 16 bp downstream from the splice donor site of the second intron in three out of five samples with p21/Waf1 deletions. Whether the mutation plays any role in aberrant RNA splicing remains to be determined. Among the five samples with p21/Waf1 gene deletions, none of them simultaneously carried a p53 or retinoblastoma (Rb) gene mutation. No p21/Waf1 abnormality was found in the benign adenomas. Thus, 12.5% (5/40) of thyroid papillary carcinoma specimens harboured p21/Waf1 gene deletions. Our data suggest that p21/Waf1 gene deletion is involved in thyroid carcinogenesis and may play an important role in thyroid cell transformation.
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PMID:Evidence of gene deletion of p21 (WAF1/CIP1), a cyclin-dependent protein kinase inhibitor, in thyroid carcinomas. 891 26

Various molecular genetic abnormalities have been reported in esophageal carcinoma. These include amplification of the chromosome 11q13 region containing cyclin D1, EXP1 and EMS1 genes, and the oncogenes, the epidermal growth factor receptor gene, EGFR/c-ERBB1, and c-myc. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at several chromosome loci and point mutation of the p53 and p16/CDKN2 tumor suppressor genes have also been described. Mutations of p53 gene and LOH at 3p and 9q loci were investigated in esophageal epithelial dysplasia. In contrast, amplification of cyclin D1, EGFR, c-myc and other genes was accumulated in advanced tumors with invasion. Cyclin D1 amplification is found more in metastatic lesions than in primary tumors.
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PMID:[Genetic events during development of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma]. 892 Jun 74

Uncontrolled cell proliferation is the hallmark of cancer, and tumor cells have typically acquired damage to genes that directly regulate their cell cycles. Genetic alterations affecting p16(INK4a) and cyclin D1, proteins that govern phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein (RB) and control exit from the G1 phase of the cell cycle, are so frequent in human cancers that inactivation of this pathway may well be necessary for tumor development. Like the tumor suppressor protein p53, components of this "RB pathway," although not essential for the cell cycle per se, may participate in checkpoint functions that regulate homeostatic tissue renewal throughout life.
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PMID:Cancer cell cycles. 893 49

India has one of the world's highest incidences of oral cancer. It is believed that the widespread habit of betel quid chewing is an important risk factor as it exposes the oral mucosa to known carcinogens. It also induces physical abrasions, which may create mitogenic environments during wound healing as gateways for infections. A recent study from our laboratories identified human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA, mostly of the high-risk types HPV-16 and HPV-18, in 67 of 91 oral cancer lesions from a cohort of Indian patients consisting mostly of betel quid users. This suggested a viral etiology of some lesions but tumorigenesis in the absence of viruses in other lesions. Here, we examined whether the p53 gene, whose function is abrogated by the product of the HPV gene E6, would be mutated in those oral cancers that were free of HPV DNA, and we found point mutations at known hot spots for mutational alteration of p53 in 4 of 23 lesions. We also considered the possibility that p21, a target of regulation by the p53 protein, may be mutationally altered in tumors with a functional p53 gene. While we did not identify mutations in the p21 gene, 6 of 11 lesions contained a polymorphism that may be associated with cancer. Interestingly, 3 of 23 lesions had mutations in the p16 gene, a third regulator of the cell cycle which is frequently mutated in melanoma but rarely in other cancers, with 1 lesion even having a mutation in the p53 as well as in the p16 gene. Our data point to p53 and p16 as gene targets of oral carcinogenesis, with chemicals in the betel quid possibly functioning in these tumors as carcinogens.
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PMID:Mutations and polymorphisms in the p53, p21 and p16 genes in oral carcinomas of Indian betel quid chewers. 894 9

In order to ascertain the role of arylamines in the induction of bladder cancer in smokers, and to assess the contribution of the metabolic phenotype to cancer risk, studies of molecular epidemiology have been conducted. A number of investigations have reported that "slow" acetylators are at higher risk of bladder cancer, especially subgroups occupationally exposed to arylamines. We present the results of studies that investigated markers of both internal dose (hemoglobin adducts, urinary mutagenicity), and genetically determined susceptibility (metabolic polymorphism) among smokers. Levels of ABP-hemoglobin adducts were elevated in smokers of black (air-cured) tobacco compared to smokers of blond tobacco, and "slow" acetylators showed higher levels than "fast" acetylators. Further, a combination of slow acetylator and fast oxidizer phenotype was associated with the highest level of ABP-hemoglobin adduct. Thus the determination of both phenotypes may allow to better predict the risk of bladder cancer than using the "slow" acetylator phenotype alone. Further investigations in this field will consider the occurrence of mutational spectra (hotspots) in relevant genes (e.g.p53 or p16) to ascertain whether tobacco-related carcinogens induce specific mutations.
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PMID:Molecular epidemiology of bladder cancer. 896 22

Orthotopic transplantation of human tumors in nude mice reproduces the pattern of local growth and distal dissemination. The aim of our study was to determine the pattern of genetic alterations in human carcinomas of the exocrine pancreas orthotopically implanted and perpetuated in nude mice. Eight of the sixteen orthoimplanted human pancreatic carcinomas were perpetuated through several passages. Four perpetuated tumors followed distinct patterns of distal dissemination. Point mutations in the K-ras gene, genetic aberrations in the p53 and p16 genes, and allelic losses at retinoblastoma, adenomatous polyposis coli, and deleted in colorectal cancer loci were analyzed. Perpetuated tumors maintained the pattern of genetic alterations present in primary tumors. Five perpetuated tumors contained K-ras mutations, and all tumors contained p53 and/or p16 genetic aberrations. Allelic losses were present in four of the perpetuated tumors. Additional genetic alterations were detected in 6 of 35 metastases analyzed. Five of 9 peritoneal metastases or malignant ascitic cells acquired either K-ras or second p53 mutations. In contrast, only 1 of 25 liver metastases and none of the lymph node metastases acquired additional mutations. No additional p16 gene aberrations or other allelic losses were evidenced during tumor dissemination. We conclude that orthotopically implanted pancreatic carcinomas xenografted in nude mice show a high degree of genetic stability. Mutations in K-ras and p53 genes can occur in this model system in the more advanced stages of pancreatic tumor progression, mainly during peritoneal dissemination.
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PMID:Orthotopic xenografts of human pancreatic carcinomas acquire genetic aberrations during dissemination in nude mice. 897 Nov 80

In vitro cell transformation is a valuable approach for studying the mechanisms of multistep carcinogenesis of human cells. Since immortalization is an essential step for in vitro neoplastic transformation of human cells, this study addresses the question of whether mutant p53 contributes to the immortalization process of human cells. The mutant p53 gene (mp53: codon273Arg-His) was introduced into normal human fibroblasts (OUMS-24 line) and a G418-resistant clone, OUMS-24/P6 line, was obtained. This clone showed an extended life span and chromosome abnormalities, but senesced at the 79th population doubling level (PDL). When these cells were subjected to intermittent X-ray treatment, they became an immortalized cell line (OUMS-24/P6X). Although these immortalized cells showed chromosome abnormalities, they were not tumorigenic. On the other hand, normal OUMS-24 cells into which mp53 had not been introduced were not immortalized by the same X-ray treatment. These results indicate that introduction and expression of mp53 alone were not sufficient for immortalization of human cells, and that mutations of the remaining wild-type p53 or other genes may have been necessary for immortalization. In fact, no expression of the wild-type p53 was detected in the immortalized cells by RT-PCR. Expression of p21, which is located downstream of p53, was remarkably reduced in the immortalized cells, resulting in an increase in cdk2 and cdc2 kinase activity. These findings indicate that the p53-p21 cascade may play some role in the immortalization of human cells. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in expression of proteins such as Rb, p16, cdk4, cdk6, cyclin A and cyclin D1 between the normal and immortalized human fibroblasts.
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PMID:Transformation of normal human fibroblasts into immortalized cells with the mutant p53 gene and X-rays. 898 2

Mutations in certain genes that regulate the cell cycle, such as p16 and p53, are frequently found in human cancers. However, tumor-specific mutations are uncommon in genes encoding cyclin E and the CDK inhibitor p27Kip1, two cell-cycle regulators that are also thought to contribute to tumor progression. It is now known that levels of both cyclin E and p27 can be controlled by posttranscriptional mechanisms, indicating that expression of these proteins can be altered by means other than simply mutation of their respective genes. Thus, changes in p27 and cyclin E protein levels in tumors might be more common than previously anticipated and may be indicators of tumor behavior.
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PMID:Expression of cell-cycle regulators p27Kip1 and cyclin E, alone and in combination, correlate with survival in young breast cancer patients. 901 30

In this study we investigated the presence of structural lesions in the ALL-1, p53 and p16 (cyclin-dependent kinase 4 inhibitor) genes in leukaemic cells obtained from 22 patients with infant acute leukaemia (aged < 18 months). Of these, 18 cases were classified as acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and four as acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Tumour DNAs were analysed by a combination of Southern blot. polymerase chain reaction (PCR), single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP), and direct sequence analyses. The results showed ALL-1 gene rearrangements in 15/22 (68%) cases, p53 gene mutations in 5/22 (26%), and a homozygous deletion of p16 in a single T-ALL case. p53 and p16 alterations were all found in the group of patients with ALL-1 gene rearrangements. p53 mutations were more often associated with a myeloid phenotype (3/5). In summary, multiple molecular alterations were found in 6/15 (40%) infant acute leukaemias with ALL-1 rearrangements. As to the clinical course, patients with additional lesions had similar clinical outcome with respect to patients with ALL-1 gene rearrangement as the sole genetic aberration. This may support the hypothesis that ALL-1 alterations are genetic events per se sufficient to confer a fully malignant phenotype to the leukaemic clone.
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PMID:Multigenetic lesions in infant acute leukaemias: correlations with ALL-1 gene status. 902 18

Many antineoplastic drugs and cytotoxic irradiation induce apoptosis in cancer cells. ICE and ICE-like proteases play important roles in drug-induced apoptosis of cancer cells. We evaluated the cellular factors affecting susceptibility to apoptosis using gene-transfected cells. Introduction of bcl 2 gene into human small cell lung cancer cells conferred resistance to mitomycin C and irinotecan. DNA fragmentation was reduced in these cells. These results indicate apoptosis is one of the mechanisms of cell death caused by some antineoplastic drugs. Investigations are ongoing to elucidate the contribution of the Bcl 2 family proteins to antineoplastic drug induced apoptosis. Wild type p53-transfected cancer cells were sensitive to anticancer drugs. On the other hand, p53-depleted cells were reported to be more sensitive to taxanes than p53-proficient cells. Introduction of Rb gene and p16-gene enhanced cytotoxicity of taxanes and topoisomerase I inhibitors, respectively. In clinical studies, patients of non small cell lung cancer with high expression of Bcl-2 were reported to show longer survival than patients with lower expression. However, this result may be confusing because Bcl-2 reduced the efficacy of antineoplastic drugs. Further evaluation is required to determine the cellular proteins serving as markers for treatment efficacy or prognosis.
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PMID:[Apoptosis and chemosensitivity]. 903 Feb 34


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