Ideas in theoretical biology. Origin of cancerous cells from tumours.
With a previous paper (Niu & Wang, 1995), a general, hypothetical outline of the mechanism of carcinogenesis was proposed. With reference to the fact of starvation-induced hypermutation in micro-organisms, we propose that the hypoxia commonly seen in the cells at the centre of solid tumours might also result in hypermutation, and then p53-dependent programmed cell death. Like the apparently adaptive mutations in micro-organisms, only those genes (e.g. p53) that enable the cells to escape from apoptosis may be selected.
Niu
D K
DK
School of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Chen
J K
JK
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics*; D015687:Cell Hypoxia / Q000235:genetics*; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics*; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics*
D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53