10 years ago today, at the 6th International Mutant p53 Workshop in Toronto, I showed clear evidence and proposed, for the first time, that p53 is not just a tumor suppressor, but that it is also a proto-oncogene (wild-type)!
The p53 oncogene (mutated) was already well known but it was believed that, unlike all other oncogenes, the p53 oncogene originated directly from a tumor suppressor through neomorphic mutations (mutations by which the altered gene product would in theory acquire novel molecular functions). I showed evidence that wild-type p53 is a proto-oncogene already in its non-mutated state, with pro-oncogenic activity like any other proto-oncogene. These functions are likely to have evolved within the p53 locus in the mammalian genome for millions of years. I proposed that it is this product of evolution, this proto-oncogene, that becomes the over-activated (mutated) p53 oncogene in cancers, similarly to any other oncogene, and that we have to learn more about it so that we can target it to cure this disease. Part of our supporting data on the existence of a p53 proto-oncogene is now available via the servers at EMBO Reports, IJMS and BioRxiv (please consult the links below). MaRCO continues in its efforts to learn more about and to target this new proto-oncogene, which is likely the most mutated proto-oncogene in cancer. Contact areap53lab@gmail.com if you want to support our research.
Our research related to p53 proto-oncogene: 2016, 2022, 2023.
marco lab 