Abstract

TP53 AND ITS ROLE IN APOPTOSIS AND HUMAN CANCERS

R. Parthiba Rajan, R. Balaji* and S. Ravichandran

ABSTRACT

Cancer is a family of diseases that exhibits uncontrolled cell division and tissue intensiveness (metastasis). The unregulated cell growth and metastasis are caused by mutations in the genes (DNA) of proteins involved in the regulation of cell cycle, and the agents causing DNA damage leading to subsequent transformation of a cell, are called carcinogens. Conventional chemotherapy has been the most common type of pharmacological anticancer treatment for decades. It never discriminates between rapidly dividing normal cells and tumor cells, thus leading to severe systematic side effects. In the last decade, the use of Novel Molecular Targeted therapies has raised immense interest due to lack of serious side effects as they inhibit specific molecules that have a role in tumor growth or progression, and not the normal cells. Hence, there is a need to understand some eminent molecular mechanisms of cancer for better clinical approach. Proto-oncogenes are normal genes that promote cell growth and mitosis, whereas Tumor Suppressor genes discourage cell growth. Proto-oncogenes can be mutated by carcinogenic agents to become oncogenes, genes producing excessive levels of growth promoting proteins.

Keywords: p53, Cancer, TP53 gene, Tumor suppressor p53.