Roles for p53 in growth arrest and apoptosis: putting on the brakes after genotoxic stress.

The tumor suppressor gene p53 plays a major role in regulation of the mammalian cellular stress response, in part through the transcriptional activation of genes involved in cell cycle control, DNA repair, and apoptosis. Many factors contribute to control of the activation of p53, and the downstream response to its activation may also vary depending on the cellular environment or other modifying factors in the cell. The complexity of the p53 response makes this an ideal system for application of newly emerging rapid throughput analysis techniques and informatics analysis.