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)

The INK4a/ARF locus encodes two proteins involved in tumor suppression in a manner virtually unique in mammalian cells. Distinct first exons, driven from separate promoters, splice onto a common exon 2 and 3 but utilize different reading frames to produce two completely distinct proteins, both of which play roles in cell cycle control. INK4a, a critical element of the retinoblastoma gene pathway, binds to and inhibits the activities of CDK4 and CDK6, while ARF, a critical element of the p53 pathway, increases the level of functional p53 via interaction with MDM2. Here we clone and characterize the promoter of the human ARF gene and show that it is a CpG island characteristic of a housekeeping gene which contains numerous Sp1 sites. Both ARF and INK4a are coordinately expressed in cells except when their promoter regions become de novo methylated. In one of these situations, ARF transcription could be reactivated by treatment with the DNA methylation inhibitor 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine, and the reactivation kinetics of ARF and INK4a were found to differ slightly in a cell line in which both genes were silenced by methylation. The ARF promoter was also found to be highly responsive to E2F1 expression, in keeping with previous results at the RNA level. Lastly, transcription from the ARF promoter was down-regulated by wild-type p53 expression, and the magnitude of the effect correlated with the status of the endogenous p53 gene. This finding points to the existence of an autoregulatory feedback loop between p53, MDM2, and ARF, aimed at keeping p53 levels in check.
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PMID:The human ARF cell cycle regulatory gene promoter is a CpG island which can be silenced by DNA methylation and down-regulated by wild-type p53. 977 62

The status of p53 was investigated in breast tumours arising in germ-line carriers of mutant alleles of BRCA1 and BRCA2 and in a control series of sporadic breast tumours. p53 expression was detected in 20/26 (77%) BRCA1-, 10/22 (45%) BRCA2-associated and 25/72 (35%) grade-matched sporadic tumours. Analysis of p53 sequence revealed that the gene was mutant in 33/50 (66%) BRCA-associated tumours, whereas 7/20 (35%) sporadic grade-matched tumours contained p53 mutation (P<0.05). A number of the mutations detected in the BRCA-associated tumours have not been previously described in human cancer databases, whilst others occur extremely rarely. Analysis of additional genes, p16INK4, Ki-ras and beta-globin revealed absence or very low incidence of mutations, suggesting that the higher frequency of p53 mutation in the BRCA-associated tumours does not reflect a generalized increase in susceptibility to the acquisition of somatic mutation. Furthermore, absence of frameshift mutations in the polypurine tracts present in the coding sequence of the TGF beta type II receptor (TGF beta IIR) and Bax implies that loss of function of BRCA1 or BRCA2 does not confer a mutator phenotype such as that found in tumours with microsatellite instability (MSI). p21Waf1 was expressed in BRCA-associated tumours regardless of p53 status and, furthermore, some tumours expressing wild-type p53 did not express detectable p21Waf1. These data do not support, therefore, the simple model based on studies of BRCA-/- embryos, in which mutation of p53 in BRCA-associated tumours results in loss of p21Waf1 expression and deregulated proliferation. Rather, they imply that proliferation of such tumours will be subject to multiple mechanisms of growth regulation.
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PMID:p53 mutation with frequent novel condons but not a mutator phenotype in BRCA1- and BRCA2-associated breast tumours. 979 97

Squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus has an uneven geographic distribution, with a high incidence in the Transkei region of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The precise molecular events associated with tumorigenesis of esophageal cancer in this region have not been characterized. DNA from human esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (n = 76), as well as adjacent tissue samples (n = 9) and blood (n = 50) from the same patients from the Transkei region were screened for somatic mutations. Exons 5-8 of the p53 gene and exons 1-2 of the p16/CDKN2 gene were examined for mutations using PCR-SSCP procedures and DNA sequence analysis. Results show that 17% of the tumors contained small deletions, insertions and point mutations, resulting in frameshifts or amino acid changes in the p53 gene. Among the mutations in the structural p16/CDKN2 gene, 9 were point mutations, 4 were deletions and 3 were insertions. A novel C to T mutation, 25 bp upstream from the ATG start site of p16/CDKN2, which sometimes occurs together with other structural gene variations, was found. The mutations described here are somatic in origin since none of the DNA samples from the adjacent control tissues or blood samples from the same patients had them.
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PMID:p53 and p16/CDKN2 gene mutations in esophageal tumors from a high-incidence area in South Africa. 980 20

The molecular changes associated with the transition of melanoma cells from radial growth phase to vertical growth phase (metastatic phenotype) are not well defined. Our recent studies have demonstrated that the two tumor suppressor genes, p53 and p16/CDKN2, do not play a major role in the acquisition of the metastatic phenotype in human melanoma. Mutations in p53 are infrequent and do not correlate with the metastatic potential of human melanoma cells while p16/CDKN2 abnormalities are frequent, but are not pre-requisite for the acquisition of the metastatic phenotype. On the other hand, the tyrosine-kinase receptor c-KIT and the cell adhesion molecule MCAM/MUC-18 play active roles in the progression of human melanoma. Metastatic melanoma cells overexpress MCAM and do not express the c-KIT receptor. Enforced c-KIT expression in metastatic cells significantly inhibited their growth and metastatic potential in nude mice. Furthermore, exposure of c-KIT-positive melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo to stem cell factor (SCF), the ligand for c-KIT, triggered apoptosis of these cells but not of normal melanocytes. Ectopic expression of MCAM into primary cutaneous melanoma cells enhanced their tumorigenicity and metastatic ability in vivo. We found that both genes, c-KIT and MCAM, are regulated by the transcription factor AP-2 and that metastatic melanoma cells do not express AP-2. We therefore propose that loss of AP-2 might be a crucial event in the progression of human melanoma.
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PMID:Molecular changes in human melanoma metastasis. 981 May 13

We analyzed allelic loss at the p53 gene (17p13) and at chromosome region 9p21 in 35 primary head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at p53 and 9p21 was found in 50 and 75% of informative cases, respectively. LOH at the p53 gene did not increase significantly with tumor stage, but was more frequent in moderately and poorly differentiated tumors than in well-differentiated tumors. LOH plus mutation or homozygous deletion of p53 was limited to advanced stage and poorly differentiated tumors. Allelic loss at 9p21 is frequent in early stage head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and is not significantly associated with LOH at p53. The second exon of the p16/MTS1/CDKN2 gene was found to be homozygously deleted in 1 of 19 cases showing LOH at 9p21, but direct sequencing did not show mutations in the remaining 18 cases. This suggests that p16 plays a limited role in the development of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
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PMID:Loss of heterozygosity and mutation analysis of the p16 (9p21) and p53 (17p13) genes in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. 981 78

We performed genetic analysis on 12 second primary non-small cell lung cancers in patients surviving small cell lung cancer to assess the potential contribution of smoking to the development of these tumors. Mutations of TP53 were found in three (25%) tumors, KRAS2 in three (25%) tumors, and CDKN2 in two (18%) tumors. Four (50%) mutations (one each in TP53 and CDKN2 and two in KRAS2) were G:C to T:A transversions on the coding strand, a mutation accounting for approximately one-third of mutations in smoking-related tumors but uncommonly found in lung cancers not associated with smoking. The genetic changes in these second lung cancers are more representative of smoking-associated malignancies than lung cancers arising in patients occupationally exposed to irradiation and atomic bomb survivors.
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PMID:Genetic analysis of second primary lung cancers in patients surviving small cell lung cancer. 981 74

G1 phase progression of mammalian cells is mainly controlled by the cyclin-cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)-CDK inhibitor-retinoblastoma protein (pRb) regulatory pathway. Cell cycle regulators controlling G1 phase progression are frequently involved in the carcinogenesis of many human cancer types. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) the CDK inhibitor p16INK4 is predominantly inactivated by post-transcriptional regulation and p16INK4 inactivation participates in the early-stage of hepatocarcinogenesis and in disease progression. Reduced p21(WAF1/CIP1) expression, which is associated mainly with p53 gene mutation in HCCs, contributes to hepatocarcinogenesis. Reduced p27Kip1 expression is also frequently involved in HCC. The CDK inhibitors p16INK4, p21(WAF1/CIP1) and p27Kip1 are independently affected and a change in the expression of one or more of these inhibitors contributes to carcinogenesis of the majority (nearly 90%) of HCCs. Cyclin D1 amplification and overexpression play a role in the carcinogenesis of a subset (11-13%) of HCCs. Disruption of the regulatory system controlling G1 phase progression is a common event in human hepatocarcinogenesis. Further studies systematically analyzing the major regulators controlling G1 phase progression in a large cohort of HCCs will strengthen our understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying human hepatocarcinogenesis. Correcting alterations that have occurred in the G1 phase regulatory machinery may provide a novel weapon to treat and prevent HCC.
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PMID:Cell cycle regulators and human hepatocarcinogenesis. 984 Jan 20

The CDKN2 locus expresses two different mRNA transcripts, designated alpha and beta. The protein product of the alpha transcript is the cell cycle inhibitor and tumour suppressor p16INK4a. The beta transcript is translated in an alternate reading frame (ARF) and in humans encodes a 15 kDa protein (p19ARF). Immunohistochemical and Western analysis of p16INK4a has shown that the protein is downregulated in a significant number of tumours, but less is known on the expression of the p19ARF. We have examined the expression of p16INK4a and p19ARF in resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by immunostaining (n=49) and multiplex RT-PCR (n=28). In order to investigate the mechanism responsible for p16INK4a downregulation, exon 1alpha methylation was analysed in a PCR-based assay. Of 49 tumours examined by immunostaining, 24 and 20 tumours expressed p16INK4a and p19ARF at nil to low levels, respectively. p19ARF was localized primarily to the nuclei of tumour cells, but was also seen to varying degrees in nuclei of lymphocytes, chondrocytes, fibroblasts, and epithelial cells. No tumour with normal p16INK4a had decreased p19ARF expression. Among 16 tumours with nil to low p16INK4a expression, 11 tumours exhibited full methylation of at least one site within exon 1alpha and these tumours showed normal p19ARF expression. In contrast, no methylation of exon 1alpha was observed in five tumours which also lacked p19ARF. In normal lung, p16INK4a and p19ARF were not expressed at detectable levels, the multiplex RT-PCR results were balanced, and sites within exon 1alpha were strongly methylated. In tumours, imbalanced multiplex RT-PCR data (p16INK4a<p19ARF) predicted methylation of exon 1alpha (P=0.0006) as well as downregulation of p16INK4a. p19ARF downregulation was inversely correlated with p53 overexpression (P=0.025), whilst negative immunostaining for p16INK4a was inversely correlated with pRb down-regulation (P=0.003) and directly correlated with p53 overexpression as assessed by immunostaining (P=0.015). Our results show that: (1) p16INK4a and p19ARF expression are altered in almost half of resectable NSCLC; (2) methylation within exon 1alpha is a frequent, but not the only mechanism of p16INK4a downregulation; and that (3) the inverse association of p19ARF and p53 alteration is consistent with a linked pathway.
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PMID:Expression of p16INK4a/p16alpha and p19ARF/p16beta is frequently altered in non-small cell lung cancer and correlates with p53 overexpression. 984 Sep 42

The p16-pRb and p53-MDM2 pathways represent vital cell cycle checkpoints. Recent studies provide evidence that these pathways are directly linked via MDM2-pRb interaction and p53 suppression of the RB1 gene. In the present study we investigated the alterations of this G1 phase protein network using immunohistochemical and molecular methods in a series of 68 non-small-cell lung carcinomas (NSCLCs) and correlated the findings with clinicopathological features and prognosis of the patients. Aberrant expression (Ab) of p16 and pRb was observed in 33 (49%) and 27 (40%) of the carcinomas, respectively. Analysis of the region that encodes for p16 by deletion mapping, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methylation assay and PCR single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis revealed that deletions and transcriptional silencing by methylation might represent the main mechanisms of CDKN2/p16ink4a inactivation in NSCLCs. The results of deletion mapping also suggest that other tumor suppressor genes may reside at the 9p21-22 region, which encodes for CDKN2/MTS1/p16ink4a, p14ARF, and MTS2/p15ink4b. In addition, microsatellite instability was observed with a frequency of 16% in the 9p21-22 chromosome area. Overexpression (P) of p53 and MDM2 proteins was found in 39 (58%) and 47 (70%) of the cases, respectively. A highly significant association was observed between p53 overexpression and p53 mutations (P = 0.006). Statistical analysis of the expression patterns of the biologically relevant molecules (p16/pRb, p53/MDM2, MDM2/pRb, and p53/pRb) showed coincident overexpression of p53 and MDM2 (P = 0.04) and that abnormal pRb was correlated with elevated levels of MDM2 (P = 0.013) and p53 (P = 0.01), respectively. We suggest that deregulated expression of these molecules may act synergistically. An important finding of the study was that multiple impairments (three and four molecules affected) of the p16/pRb/p53/MDM2 network occurred in a large proportion (43%) of the carcinomas. This finding in addition to the absence of correlation with clinical stage of the tumors suggests that multiple hits of this network may be a relatively early event in the development of a subset of NSCLCs. The relationship between the factors examined in the present study, clinicopathological features, and survival of the patients did not reveal any significant correlations with the exception of smoking, which was associated with microsatellite alterations (loss of heterozygosity and microsatellite instability) at the 9p21-22 locus (P = 0.04) and the immunophenotypes p53(P)/MDM2(P) (P = 0.04) and p16(Ab)/pRb(Ab)/p53(P)/MDM2(P) (P = 0.03), respectively. We suggest that in a subset of NSCLCs, simultaneous deregulation of the members of this network may represent one way of initiating the oncogenic procedure whereas in other NSCLC subgroups alternative pathways may play this role.
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PMID:Alterations of the p16-pRb pathway and the chromosome locus 9p21-22 in non-small-cell lung carcinomas: relationship with p53 and MDM2 protein expression. 984 66

In a panel of 16 human ovarian tumours transplanted in nude mice, the expression of genes involved in cell cycle regulation and in response to drug treatment were characterised. In the 16 tumours analysed we could not detect overexpression of Erb-B2 oncogene while expression of MDR1 mRNA was not detected in 11/15 samples and was low in 4/15 tumours. Only three tumours had mutations in the p53 gene exons 5-8 and one of these mutations did not result in any amino acid alteration. The levels of mRNA for cyclins A, D1 and E were heterogeneous with some tumours expressing high levels and others not expressing them at all. The same was found for the cyclin dependent kinases (CDK) CDK2 and CDK4 and for CDK inhibitors p21/WAF1, p27/KIP1 and p16/CDKN2. Two genes belonging to the nucleotide excision repair, ERCC1 and ERCC3 were detectable in all the samples examined, as were the genes MGMT and MAG, also involved in DNA repair. The data indicate a heterogeneity in the expression of genes considered to be involved in the cellular responses to cytotoxic drug treatment and indicate the possibility of using these tumour models to test specifically molecules with a defined mechanism of action.
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PMID:Molecular characterisation of a panel of human ovarian carcinoma xenografts. 984 28


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