The Role of p53 in Cancer

p53 is a sentinel protein recruited rapidly in response to DNA damage. p53 slides along the DNA until it finds a critical site, to which it binds. p53 then sends the message, to halt cell division until DNA is repaired, or If damage is too severe, the cell is destroyed. p53 is therefore known as the ‘guardian of the genome.’ A tiny change in p53 results in a structure that is unable to securely bind to the critical site. This means no decisions can be made about whether to repair DNA or destroy the cell. Without functional p53, cells can accumulate more and more DNA damage, possibly leading to cancer.