Researchers at Dundee University have discovered an apoptosis (programmed cell death) gene that is directly induced by the tumour suppressor gene p53, and are now seeking a commercial partner to license the gene for development.
To date, few pro-apoptotic genes that are directly induced by p53 have been described. This is probably due to the use of cellular p53 models, which as they are derived from tumour or immortalised cells are unlikely to express pro-apoptotic genes.
The researchers used normal (p53+/+) and p53-nullizygote (p53-/-) mice to identify the new gene, called scotin.
Scotin also induces apoptosis independently of p53, and the researchers say it is suitable for the development of a high-throughput screen in drug discovery and has potential as a therapeutic agent
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