Chapters authored
Molecular Mechanisms of Distinct Diseases
Molecular medicine describes molecular structures and mechanisms and this chapter focuses on molecular and genetics errors of diseases. Diseases can be classified into deficiency diseases, hereditary diseases, infectious diseases and physiological diseases and to get a glimpse of the mechanisms the chapter covers the most common disease of each class.
Part of the book: Methods in Molecular Medicine
Role of p53 in Human Cancers
TP53 codes tumor protein 53-p53 that controls the cell cycle through binding DNA directly and induces reversible cell-cycle arrest. The protein activates DNA repair genes if mutated DNA will be repaired or activates apoptotosis if the damaged DNA cannot be fixed. Therefore, p53, so-called the “guardian of the genome,” promote cell survival by allowing for DNA repair. However, the tumor-suppressor function of p53 is either lost or gained through mutations in half of the human cancers. In this work, functional perturbation of the p53 mechanism is elaborated at the breast, bladder, liver, brain, lung cancers, and osteosarcoma. Mutation of wild-type p53 not only diminishes tumor suppressor activity but transforms it into an oncogenic structure. Further, malfunction of the TP53 leads accumulation of additional oncogenic mutations in the cell genome. Thus, disruption of TP53 dependent survival pathways promotes cancer progression. This oncogenic TP53 promotes cell survival, prevents cell death through apoptosis, and contributes to the proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the contribution of mutant p53 to distinct cancer types.
Part of the book: p53