= P53: The Key to Sunbathing (The Regulation of MSH)=
An Introduction to P53
This essay discusses the effects of P53, its relation to sunbathing and the tanning response. Additionally, we will be discussing the P53’s relation to cancer and its prognostic factor and the role of MSH.
Fig 1.
The Structure of P53 (Splettstoesser)
P53 (TP 53) is a tumor suppressor gene that is considered one of the most frequent targets for gene alterations relating to cancer. (Moshe Oren et al, 2007) It codes for a protein that regulates the cell cycle, functioning as a tumor suppressor. In 1993 P53 was voted molecule of the year by science magazine, and has been described as “the guardian of the genome”, relating to ability to prevent genome mutation. In over half of human tumors we can see the inactivation of P53. Due to many experiments on the biochemistry an physiology of P53 relating to its cancer role, it is now appreciated that its main role is to prevent the emergence of cells with permanently defective genomes, which are very likely to lead to cancer. In normal cells, P53 protein is low, but after DNA damage or other stress such as UV radiation, a trigger response may occur, increasing the number of P53 proteins in the cell. These proteins have three major functions: apoptosis (cell death), DNA repair and growth arrest – stopping the cell cycle and therefore preventing replication of damaged DNA. Apoptosis would be a final result to prevent replication of damaged DNA and avoiding tumor growth. Although high levels of P53 can be considered a good thing when referred to cancer suppression, too much can result in accelerated aging which will be discussed further as an effect of excessive UV radiation.