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p53 ancestry: gazing through an evolutionary lens

Nature Reviews Cancer volume 9, pages 758–762 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Evolutionary patterns indicate that primordial p53 genes predated the appearance of cancer. Therefore, wild-type tumour suppressive functions and mutant oncogenic functions that give celebrity status to this gene family were probably co-opted from unrelated primordial activities. Is it possible to deduce what these early functions might have been? And might this knowledge provide a platform for therapeutic opportunities?

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Figure 1: Simplified p53 family member tree.
Figure 2: A simplified evolutionary schematic of the p53 regulatory network.
Figure 3: Hypothetical changes during phylogenic and oncogenic evolution of p53.

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Acknowledgements

W.L. and J.M.A. are supported by R01 grants from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. J.F.A. is supported by R01 from the National Cancer Institute. We are grateful to A. Diehl for artwork preparation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wan-Jin Lu and John M. Abrams are at the Department of Cell Biology, University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA.,

    Wan-Jin Lu & John M. Abrams

  2. James F. Amatruda is at the Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA.,

    James F. Amatruda

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  1. Wan-Jin Lu
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Correspondence to John M. Abrams.

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p53 family members (PDF 102 kb)

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FURTHER INFORMATION

John M. Abrams' homepages

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International Agency for Cancer Research TP53 Mutation Database

p53 Knowledgebase

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Lu, WJ., Amatruda, J. & Abrams, J. p53 ancestry: gazing through an evolutionary lens. Nat Rev Cancer 9, 758–762 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc2732

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