Dangerous habits of a security guard: the two faces of p53 as a drug target

摘要

Being most well-known tumor suppressor that is inactivated in tumors more frequently than any other gene, p53 has been recently recognized as a major player in a variety of pathologies caused by acute stresses of tissues that is responsible for massive cell loss from apoptosis. This created a controversial situation when effective treatment of acute pathology requires inhibition of a major cancer preventive factor that has been traditionally viewed as a target for therapeutic activation. Here we briefly review specific aspects of this pro-blem and discuss the ways of its pharmacological resolution based on detailed knowledge of molecular mechanisms of p53 regulation and activity.