The gene Wrap53 controls the action of p53, according to
scientists at the Karolinska Institutet. They also explains how
antisense RNA regulates genes in the human body, a finding that
reveals a regulatory pathway for controlling p53 and also offers
a general mechanism for antisense-mediated gene regulation in
human cells. Researchers found that Wrap53 gives rise to
antisense RNA, which is necessary for the production of
sufficient quantities of p53 protein in the event of DNA damage.
Thus damage to Wrap53 can indirectly cause cancer. “Mutations in
the p53 gene contribute to about half of all cancer cases,” says
Marianne Farnebo, Ph.D., in the department of oncology-pathology
at the Karolinska Institutet. “In the remaining half, p53 is
probably inactivated in other ways such as damage to Wrap53
knocking out the production of the p53 protein.” The article
appears in the February 27 online edition of Molecular Cell.