Historical Background
As the major tumor suppressor in multicellular organisms, p53 is one of the most intensively studied human proteins (over 80,000 publications including nearly 10,000 reviews) because it is critical for maintaining genomic stability, cellular homeostatic processes in response to multiple stresses, and suppressing cancers. The p53 protein is a tetrameric, sequence-specific, DNA-binding transcription factor, stabilized and activated in response to genotoxic and non-genotoxic stresses; estimates are that activation of p53 directly or indirectly induces or represses the expression of about 3,000 genes (about 10% of human genes). These genes coordinate the cellular response to protect cells and/or the organism from damage (Riley et al. 2008). When possible they promote a return to homeostasis by arresting the cell cycle and inducing repair; by altering cellular metabolism; by initiating apoptosis, a program of cell death; or by...
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This research was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
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Menendez, D., Nguyen, TA., Resnick, M.A., Anderson, C.W. (2016). p53. In: Choi, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Signaling Molecules. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6438-9_57-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6438-9_57-1
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