How to Use p53 in a Sentence

p53

noun
  • The best known is the gene for a protein called p53, which stops cells from reproducing if their DNA is damaged.
    The Economist, 16 Sep. 2017
  • The reason why that could be a problem is that p53 dysfunction can cause cancer.
    Sharon Begley, STAT, 11 June 2018
  • Yet extra copies of p53 are not the elephants’ only source of protection.
    Quanta Magazine, 7 Nov. 2017
  • For example, naked mole rat cells amass large amounts of a protein called p53, which is known to suppress tumors.
    Max G. Levy, Wired, 24 May 2021
  • One key to making this work, said Suhr, is finding a way to compromise the function of a specific gene called p53.
    Lindsey Botts, The Arizona Republic, 25 Apr. 2022
  • This form of cancer is one where there doesn't seem to be a somatic cell mutation of p53 itself.
    Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Oct. 2013
  • Although p53 mutations greatly increase the risk of cancer, the findings are a reason to be cautious and not for full-blown alarm.
    Fox News, 13 June 2018
  • First, the fact that elephants possess multiple copies lowers the chance of p53 no longer working because of mutations.
    Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 8 Sep. 2022
  • But the same mutation seemed to have the opposite effect in the small intestine: mutant p53 actually prevented tumors from growing.
    Hannah Seo, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2020
  • The scientists virtually modeled and examined elephants' 40 p53 proteins, finding two ways the gene could help elephants avoid cancer.
    Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 8 Sep. 2022
  • Vousden unexpectedly veered into that line of research while studying a cancer-preventing gene called p53.
    Jocelyn Kaiser, Science | AAAS, 1 Apr. 2021
  • Zwaka’s group made mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) with a supercompetitor mutation that lowered expression of p53, an important quality-control protein that normally puts the brakes on cell division.
    Kendall Powell, Scientific American, 22 Jan. 2020
  • However, inhibition of p53 leaves the cell transiently vulnerable to the introduction of chromosomal rearrangements and other tumorigenic mutations.
    Sharon Begley, STAT, 19 June 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'p53.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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