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Query: UNIPROT:P04637 (p53)
 77,613 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Several genetic alterations that perturb normal cellular growth control mechanisms can cause cancers. These include point mutations, deletions, translocations, amplifications and gene rearrangements and occur primarily in two classes of interacting genes, oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. While mutation or amplification of certain oncogenes can facilitate cell growth and tumor formation (Bishop, 1983, 1991; Hunter, 1991; Land, et al., 1983), loss or mutation of tumor suppressor genes, which normally inhibit these processes, can promote tumor formation (Knudson, 1985; Cavenee, et al., 1989; Marshall, 1991). Human skin tumors display multiple genetic alterations such as Ha-ras gene mutation and LOH, N-ras gene amplification, and mutations in p53 tumor suppressor gene. In most cases, the mutations in ras and p53 genes are localized to pyrimidine-rich sequences, particularly C-C sequences, which indicates that these sites are probably the targets for UV-induced DNA damage and subsequent mutation and transformation. Since UV radiation in sunlight is an environmental carcinogen it is important to understand the molecular mechanisms by which UV radiation induces human skin cancers. In addition, suitable animals models are available for comparative studies and risk assessment. By comparing the various genetic alterations detected in sunlight-induced human skin tumors with those present in UV-induced murine skin tumors, it may be possible to identify the carcinogen-related events that are involved in the multi-step process of carcinogenesis. Studies addressing these issues should provide further insights into the molecular mechanisms of UV carcinogenesis.
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PMID:Molecular alterations in human skin tumors. 152 30

There are reports of p53 gene mutations in various human cancers but not in rat tumor cell lines or rat primary tumor tissue. We found a p53 gene mutation in a cell line of a spontaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the rat Zymbal gland, SCC131, at codon 171 by direct sequencing of cDNA fragments amplified by PCR. We tested for p53 gene mutations in 15 primary Zymbal gland tumors induced by 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of the PCR-amplified cDNA products. Samples of four tumors showed mobility shifts. Direct sequencing revealed that all these tumors had mutations in conserved regions or in scattered conserved residues. Single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of cDNA suggested that mRNA from the wild-type allele of the p53 gene was not present in tumor cells of three of four positive cases, although genomic DNA analysis indicated that the wild-type allele was retained in all the cases. All mutations were found at a guanine base: three mutations were guanine----pyrimidine transversions and one was a deletion of a guanine base within a G+C-rich sequence. These findings indicate that 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline may be directly involved in induction of these mutations by forming DNA adducts at various sites in the p53 gene.
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PMID:Rat p53 gene mutations in primary Zymbal gland tumors induced by 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline, a food mutagen. 159 84

In this study, we analyzed 10 human squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) for alterations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene in exons 4 through 9 by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. We found that 2 of 10 SCCs displayed unusual SSCP alleles at exon 7 of the p53 gene. Subsequent cloning and sequencing of PCR-amplified exon 7 DNA from these two tumors revealed that one had a G----A transition at the first position of codon 244, predicting a glycine-to-serine amino acid change, while the other tumor exhibited a G----T base change at the second nucleotide of codon 248, predicting an arginine-to-leucine substitution. Because the mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene in both tumors were located opposite potential pyrimidine dimer sites (C-C), it is consistent with these mutations having been induced by the ultraviolet radiation present in sunlight. These studies demonstrate that inactivation of the p53 tumor suppressor gene, as well as activation of ras oncogenes, may be involved in the pathogenesis of some human skin cancers.
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PMID:Mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene in human cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas. 179 82

Size separation after UV-endonuclease digestion of DNA from UV-irradiated human cells using denaturing conditions fractionates the genome based on cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer content. We have examined the largest molecules available (50-80 kb; about 5% of the DNA) after fractionation and those of average size (5-15 kb) for content of some specific genes. We find that the largest molecules are not a representative sampling of the genome. Three contiguous genes located in a G+C-rich isochore (tyrosine hydroxylase, insulin, insulin-like growth factor II) have concentrations two to three times greater in the largest molecules. This shows that this genomic region has fewer pyrimidine dimers than most other genomic regions. In contrast, the beta-actin genomic region, which has a similar G+C content, has an equal concentration in both fractions as do the p53 and beta-globin genomic regions, which are A+T-rich. These data show that DNA damage in the form of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers occurs with different probabilities in specific isochores. Part of the reason may be the relative G+C content, but other factors must play a significant role. We also report that the transcriptionally inactive insulin region is repaired at the genome-overall rate in normal cells and is not repaired in xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group C cells.
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PMID:Identification of a large genomic region in UV-irradiated human cells which has fewer cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers than most genomic regions. 748 Jan 36

We investigated whether mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene alter UV sensitivity and/or repair of UV-induced DNA damage in primary human skin fibroblasts from patients with Li-Fraumeni syndrome, heterozygous for mutations in one allele of the p53 gene (p53 wt/mut) and sublines expressing only mutant p53 (p53 mut). The p53 mut cells were more resistant than the p53 wt/mut cells to UV cytotoxicity and exhibited less UV-induced apoptosis. DNA repair analysis revealed reduced removal of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers from overall genomic DNA in vivo in p53 mut cells compared with p53 wt/mut or normal cells. However, p53 mut cells retained the ability to preferentially repair damage in the transcribed strands of expressed genes (transcription-coupled repair). These results suggest that loss of p53 function may lead to greater genomic instability by reducing the efficiency of DNA repair but that cellular resistance to DNA-damaging agents may be enhanced through elimination of apoptosis.
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PMID:Li-Fraumeni syndrome fibroblasts homozygous for p53 mutations are deficient in global DNA repair but exhibit normal transcription-coupled repair and enhanced UV resistance. 756 35

Central to the role of p53 in cell regulation are its sequence-specific interactions with genes that control the cell cycle and apoptosis. p53 response elements contain two or more copies of a somewhat promiscuous consensus sequence: 5'-XXXC(A,T)(T,A)GYY-3' (where X is a purine and Y is a pyrimidine) (ref. 3). The sequence-specific DNA-binding region of p53 resides in its central conserved region. Although this region itself is not known to be phosphorylated, the amino and carboxy termini of human p53 contain sites for phosphorylation by several protein kinases. We have examined the role of cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) shown previously to phosphorylate human p53 at serine 315 (ref. 5). We report here that p53 is efficiently and selectively phosphorylated by S and G2/M Cdks. Such phosphorylation markedly stimulates sequence-specific DNA binding by p53 and also causes a distinctive conformational change in p53 as revealed by partial protease analysis. Strikingly, Cdk phosphorylation also confers binding-site preference on p53. These data suggest a potential regulatory mechanism of p53 activity.
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PMID:Increased and altered DNA binding of human p53 by S and G2/M but not G1 cyclin-dependent kinases. 759 41

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation produces two major photoproducts, cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD) and (6-4) photoproducts. T4 endonuclease V (T4N5), which specifically repairs CPD, is encapsulated in liposomes. A previous study has shown that UV-induced carcinogenesis in mice was suppressed by the application of T4N5 liposomes. To confirm the suppressive effect, we applied T4N5 liposomes with repeated UVB exposure to hairless mice. At the end of the experiment, mice treated with T4N5 liposomes had 3.5 +/- 1.3 tumors per mouse, and control mice had 6.3 +/- 2.8 tumors per mouse. In addition, the incidence of tumors was reduced in T4N5 liposome-treated mice compared with controls. The pathological diagnosis of the tumors was not significantly different between two groups. Immunohistochemical analysis of p53 protein in UV-induced tumors showed that nearly half of the tumors in both groups were positive. When the biopsied normal-looking skin taken during the experiment was stained with p53 antibody, there was no significant difference of the timing of p53 protein expression between the control mice and T4N5 liposome-treated mice. These results confirmed that CPD plays a pivotal role in UV carcinogenesis, although the molecular mechanisms of the suppression by T4N5 liposomes should be further clarified.
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PMID:Reduction of ultraviolet-induced skin cancer in mice by topical application of DNA excision repair enzymes. 765 67

Melanin is thought to serve in photoprotection. To investigate this, we have compared the responses of cultured human melanocytes derived from different pigmentary phenotypes (skin types I-VI) to a single irradiation with different doses of UVB light, ranging between 11.7 and 70.1 mJ/cm2. After UVB irradiation, heavily pigmented melanocytes had the same percent survival but a greater capacity to resume proliferation than their lightly pigmented counterparts. A significant increase in melanin content was observed in heavily pigmented but not in lightly pigmented melanocytes. Irradiation with UVB light blocked melanocytes, regardless of their melanin content, in G1, and induced the expression of the tumor suppressor p53 protein within 4 h. This induction steadily increased up to 48 h in lightly pigmented melanocytes; however, in heavily pigmented melanocytes, p53 level peaked at 24 h after UVB treatment and declined thereafter. Additionally, DNA from lightly pigmented melanocytes contained significantly higher numbers of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers than did DNA from heavily pigmented melanocytes after irradiation with increasing doses of UVB light. We speculate that the prolonged induction of p53 in lightly pigmented melanocytes arrests them in G1 for a long time period in order to repair extensive DNA damage. The above described differences might partially explain the increased susceptibility of individuals with lightly pigmented skin compared to individuals with dark skin to the photodamaging and photocarcinogenic effects of sun exposure.
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PMID:Comparison of the responses of human melanocytes with different melanin contents to ultraviolet B irradiation. 766 77

In order to find biomarkers to measure the effects of UV irradiation, we examined the accumulation of p53 protein and pyrimidine dimers in 18 solar keratosis specimens. Frozen or AMeX-fixed solar keratosis specimens were immunohistochemically stained by anti-p53 mouse monoclonal antibody, pAb1801 and polyclonal anti-(pyrimidine dimer) antibody. Nuclear accumulation of p53 protein was found in 5/18 (28%) solar keratosis lesions. The percentage of cases showing nuclear p53 protein varied according to the histological type; in the bowenoid type it was 4/7 (57%); in the atrophic type it was 1/7 (14%). Nuclear pyrimidine dimers were not stained in solar keratosis, although the skin of UV-irradiated nude mice was positive. Accumulation of p53 protein is a good marker for early precancerous change caused by UV exposure.
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PMID:Immunohistochemical examination of tumor-suppressor gene p53 product and pyrimidine dimer in solar keratosis. 768 43

Removal of UVB-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD) from each of the two strands of the transcriptionally active p53 tumor suppressor gene and the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) gene was determined in the epidermis of the hairless mouse using the CPD-specific enzyme T4 endonuclease V. Mice were exposed to a single dose of UVB (2 kJ/m2) and kept in darkness for up to 24 h. About 80% of the CPD were removed from the transcribed strand of the p53 and HPRT genes within 24 h. Most rapid removal was observed during the first 4 h. In contrast, very little removal of CPD from the nontranscribed strand of the p53 and the HPRT genes was observed in 24 h. The same low level of repair was observed in the inactive c-mos proto-oncogene. The efficient repair of the transcribed strand compared to the nontranscribed strand of transcriptionally active genes in the epidermis of the hairless mouse resembles the repair of CPD in cultured rodent cells. Moreover, the selective removal of CPD from the transcribed strand of the p53 gene correlates well with the known strand bias of u.v.-induced mutations at dipyrimidine sites in the p53 gene of u.v.-induced mouse skin tumors.
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PMID:Strand-specific removal of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers from the p53 gene in the epidermis of UVB-irradiated hairless mice. 797 Jul 1


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