p73基因在口腔肿瘤中的表达及意义

p73基因是Kaghad等在1997年克隆得到的一个新基团，因其编码的蛋白质在序列上与p53有较高的同源性，成为p53基因家族中的一个重要成员。p73基因编码的蛋白质，无论在结构上，还是功能上均与p53相似，且与肿瘤的发生密切相关，可抑制肿瘤增殖，诱导凋亡，被认为是一种潜在的抑癌基因。但p73在功能和调控机制上与p53并不完全一致，而且p73在很多肿瘤中的表达高于相应的正常组织，这与经典的抑癌基因也不同。作者就p73基因的研究现状以及在口腔肿瘤中的表达及意义作一综述。

The expression and significance of p73 in oral tumors

[Summary] p73 was discovered in 1997 by Kaghad et al. As a p53 homologue gene, p73 shares similar structural sequences with p53, and it becomes a significant member of p53 family. The protein coded by p73 is similar to p53 protein not only in the structure but also in the function, p73 protein is closely related to the occurrence of tumor, and it can restrain cell multiplication and induce apoptosis, so that it is regarded as a potential suppressor tumor gene. However, the function and the mechanism of p73 gene is much different from p53 gene, p73 is unclear whether this protein functions as a tumor suppressor. Now we reviewed the researches on p73 and its expression and significance in oral tumors.