Electric Transport Properties of the p53 Gene and the Effects of Point Mutations

In this work, charge transport (CT) properties of the p53 gene are numerically studied by the transfer matrix method, and using either single or double strand effective tight-binding models. A statistical analysis of the consequences of known p53 point mutations on CT features is performed. It is found that in contrast to other kind of mutation defects, cancerous mutations result in much weaker changes of CT efficiency. Given the envisioned role played by CT in the DNA-repairing mechanism, our theoretical results suggest an underlying physical explanation at the origin of carcinogenesis.