Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Yeast As a Chassis for Developing Functional Assays to Study Human P53
Published on: August 4, 2019
Declining p53 function in the aging process: a possible mechanism for the increased tumor incidence in older
Zhaohui Feng1, Wenwei Hu, Angelika K Teresky
1Cancer Institute of New Jersey, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA.
Abstract:
Cancer is a disease of aging. The accumulation of mutations in individual cells over a lifetime is thought to be the reason. In this work, we explored an additional hypothesis: could p53 function decline with age, which would contribute to an enhanced mutation frequency and tumorigenesis in the aging process? The efficiency of the p53 response to gamma-irradiation was found to decline significantly in various tissues of aging mice from several inbred strains, including lower p53 transcriptional activity and p53-dependent apoptosis. This decline resulted from a decreased stabilization of the p53 protein after stress. The function of the Ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase declined significantly with age, which may then be responsible for the decline of the p53 response to radiation. Declining p53 responses to other stresses were also observed in the cultured splenocytes from aging mice. Interestingly, the time of onset of this decreased p53 response correlated with the life span of mice; mice that live longer delay their onset of decreased p53 activity with time. These results suggest an enhanced fixation of mutations in older individuals because of the declining fidelity of p53-mediated apoptosis or senescence in response to stress, and they suggest a plausible explanation for the correlation between tumorigenesis and the aging process.
Related Concept Videos
Abnormal Proliferation
DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle
DNA Damage Can Stall the Cell Cycle
Loss of Tumor Suppressor Gene Functions
When the tumor suppressor genes develop mutations or are lost, cells start growing out of control, leading to cancer. However, a single functional copy of the tumor suppressor gene is enough for the cells to maintain their normal functions and cell...
Loss of Tumor Suppressor Gene Functions
When the tumor suppressor genes develop mutations or are lost, cells start growing out of control, leading to cancer. However, a single functional copy of the tumor suppressor gene is enough for the cells to maintain their normal functions and cell...
Replicative Cell Senescence
