[An overview of research on p53 tumor suppressor gene].

The concept of tumor suppressor gene introduced in the last decade has provided an enormous understanding of the mechanism of human carcinogenesis with the intensive study of p53 during the 1990's. The product of p53 tumor suppressor gene is a transcription factor which recognizes and binds to a specific DNA consensus sequence existing in the promoter region of p53 responsive genes. The main physiological functions of p53 are (1) cell cycle regulation mainly at the G1 check point, (2) induction of apoptosis, and (3) stabilization of genome. As each of them are indispensable gatekeeping devices of the cell for the suppression of malignant transformation, the alteration of p53 gene, which is found more than half of human malignancies, may play a central role in multistep carcinogenesis.