A tumour suppressor gene encodes for a tumour suppressor protein. This protein has a role in the normal regulation of cellular proliferation or differentiation. When its role is perturbed tumours arise and cell growth becomes unconstrained.
Hereditary diseases that predispose to neoplasia have been excellent systems for the identification of tumour suppressors. In these diseases, an affected individual has the inherited mutation at birth and thus the primary mutation responsible for tumorigenesis is more easily identified.
Various features of tumour suppressors have been identified:
Examples of tumour suppressor genes include:
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