British molecular biologist: the protein produced by p53 gene plays a key role in cancer cells

  According to a new study, a genetic variation that increases the risk of testicular cancer may be deeply influenced by evolution because it helps protect those with fair skin from the sun's ultraviolet rays This finding may be why white people are more sensitive to this type of cancer than black people It also helps to explain why testicular cancer is easy to cure   Gareth bond, a molecular biologist at Ludwig Cancer Institute, Oxford University, UK, and his colleagues were interested in the p53 gene when they studied how genetic genes affect the risk of cancer The mutation of the gene occurred in more than half of cancer patients The protein produced by this gene plays a key defensive role in cancer cells - it works in many other genes and can prevent many types of stress, including DNA damage and hypoxia It can also help prevent cancer and force severely damaged cells to kill themselves   The mutation of p53, or the activity of other genes that play a role, effectively prevents this instruction from being received, and at the same time enables the damaged cells to continue to propagate and then form tumors   So what causes this mutation? Evolutionary analysis shows that the genetic variation has become very common In the process of human migration from the African continent to the north, the variation appears in 80% of European white people, compared with only 24% of African descendants Perhaps not coincidentally, the incidence of testicular cancer in white men is four to five times higher than in black men   "Due to the early migration from Africa to the north, there is a gradual loss of skin pigmentation that allows it to retain more vitamin D in the dark zone, and it is precisely those pigmentation that can better repair UV damage." The researchers said Bond added: "for our ancestors, preventing sunburn was crucial to survival For example, a severe burn can lead to infection, and our ancestors had no antibiotics available "