Turning p53 Knowledge Into p53 Therapies
EurekAlert! notes progress towards developing cancer therapies from past years of investigating the p53 gene: "p53 has long been known to play a critical role in the development of many tumors - it is mutated in more than 50 percent of human cancers. Researchers have identified a few compounds that restore p53 function, but until now, it has not been known whether such activity would actually reverse tumor growth in primary tumors. ... In normal cells, p53 controls the cell cycle. ... When p53 is turned off by mutation or deletion, cells are much more likely to become cancerous, because they will divide uncontrollably even when DNA is damaged. ... researchers used engineered mice that had the gene for p53 turned off. But, they also included a genetic 'switch' that allowed the researchers to turn p53 back on after tumors developed. Once the switch was activated, p53 appeared in the tumor cells and the majority of the tumors shrank between 40 and 100 percent. ... The study also revealed that turning on p53 has no damaging effects in normal cells. ... This means you can design drugs that restore p53 and you don't have to worry too much about toxic side effects."
Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-01/miot-mrg012207.php