Are there master switches regulating the neuronal response to injury and disease?
Neurons respond to stress in different ways depending on the nature of the injury or disease. Although different types of injury and disease may stimulate diverse pathways in neurons, there are some uniform biochemical responses to cellular stress. For example, one common response to neuronal damage is the production of reactive oxygen species. These are highly reactive molecules that bind and damage proteins, lipids and DNA. All cells possess a surveillance mechanism for identifying and then repairing DNA damage. One such molecule involved in this process is the p53 tumor suppressor, which is a nuclear protein that functions as a key regulator of DNA repair, cell cycle progression and apoptosis. When growing cells acquire damage to their genetic material, p53 essentially applies a brake so they no longer divide and can repair DNA damage prior to dividing into new cells. As a result, p53 ensures that cells do not pass on genetic mutations that might eventually cause cancer. In fact, lo
