The Role of TP53 in Adaptation and Evolution

The gene is a major player in cancer formation, and it is considered the most important tumor suppressor gene. The p53 protein acts as a transcription factor, and it is involved in DNA repair, senescence, cell-cycle control, autophagy, and apoptosis. Beyond cancer, there is evidence that is associat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cells (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2023-02, Vol.12 (3), p.512
Main Authors: Voskarides, Konstantinos, Giannopoulou, Nefeli
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Animals
antagonistic pleiotropy
Apoptosis
Autophagy
Cancer
Cell cycle
Cell division
DNA repair
environment
Evolution
Families & family life
Females
Fertility
Genes
Genes, p53
Genetic diversity
genetics
Humans
Hypoxia
In vitro fertilization
Insects
Males
Medical prognosis
Mortality
Mutation
Mutation - genetics
natural selection
Nematodes
Neoplasms - genetics
oncogene
Oncogenes
p53 Protein
Positive selection
Pregnancy
Proteins
Review
Senescence
tumor
Tumor suppressor genes
Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 - genetics
Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 - metabolism
White people
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Summary:The gene is a major player in cancer formation, and it is considered the most important tumor suppressor gene. The p53 protein acts as a transcription factor, and it is involved in DNA repair, senescence, cell-cycle control, autophagy, and apoptosis. Beyond cancer, there is evidence that is associated with fertility, aging, and longevity. Additionally, more evidence exists that genetic variants in are associated with environmental adaptation. Special amino-acid residues or pathogenic mutations seem to be adaptive for animals living in hypoxic and cold environments or having been exposed to starvation, respectively. At the somatic level, it has recently been proven that multiple cancer genes, including , are under positive selection in healthy human tissues. It is not clear why these driver mutations do not transform these tissues into cancerous ones. Other studies have shown that elephants have multiple copies, probably this being the reason for the very low cancer incidence in these large animals. This may explain the famous Peto's paradox. This review discusses in detail the multilevel role of in adaptation, according to the published evidence. This role is complicated, and it extends from cells to individuals and to populations.
ISSN:2073-4409
2073-4409
DOI:10.3390/cells12030512