Gene 'protects human life'

Gene p53 may play a role in protecting against harm

Scientists have uncovered evidence that one specific gene may play a crucial role in preserving human life under conditions of stress.

The gene appears to protect tissues not only against cancer but also other potential threats, such as oxygen starvation.

Our discovery now makes it possible to use these simple animals to discover new cancer target genes and drugs with unprecedented speed

Professor Joel Rothman

The discovery also raises the possibility that the gene could be used to develop more potent and less harmful anti-cancer drugs.

It has been known for some time that the p53 gene plays a significant role in preventing cancer.

However, humans have three forms of the p53 gene with overlapping functions which has made it difficult to pin down its exact role.

But scientists from the University of California have discovered that a rudimentary worm called a nematode carries only one version of the gene.

This made it far easier for the researchers to reveal what role the family of p53 genes plays in all animals.

Damaged cells

They found that the gene plays a crucial role in killing off cells damaged by exposure to harmful substances such as radiation.

Some of the major breakthroughs in understanding the development of cancer and its devastating effect on the human body have come from studies of humble creatures

Nicola Hawe, Cancer Research Campaign

Unchecked, cells that have suffered this "genotoxic stress" can become cancerous.

However, the researchers also found that the gene extends the life span of worms that are starving, and helps to keep worms alive when they are struggling in conditions where oxygen is in short supply.

In humans, a lack of oxygen is responsible for widespread tissue damage caused by heart attacks and stroke.

Lead researcher Professor Joel Rothman said the findings indicate p53 helps the animal react to quite different environmental stresses.

He said: "It is apparently a kingpin for supporting life under a variety of stress conditions.

"Our discovery now makes it possible to use these simple animals to discover new cancer target genes and drugs with unprecedented speed, at much lower cost, and with much greater breadth than was heretofore possible."

Simple creatures

Nicola Hawe, science information officer at the Cancer Research Campaign, said the work stressed how important it was to carry out research on organisms that on the surface seem to have little relevance to human disease.

She said: "Some of the major breakthroughs in understanding the development of cancer and its devastating effect on the human body have come from studies of humble creatures like the worm, the fruit fly and yeast.

"Simple organisms like these allow scientists to dissect the functions of individual genes, a task which can be impossible amid the complexity of the human system."

She said that although p53 was possibly the most studied gene in the world, the Californian research team had managed to shed new light on its function through studying the nematode worm.

The research is published in the journal Science.