Detection of p53 mutation and serum monitoring alert caused by Marek's disease virus

Abstract Background: Marek’s disease as a chicken neoplastic disease, brings huge economic losses to the global poultry industry. The tumor suppressor gene, wild type P53, plays a key role in blocking cell cycle, promoting apoptosis and maintaining stability of genome. However, the p53 could become an oncogene from a tumor inhibitory role, if a mutation happened. Results: The mutation rate of p53 was 60 percent in experimentally and naturally infected chickens. The mutations included point-mutations and deletions, and mostly located in the DNA-binding domain. The mutated P53 can be expressed in tumors of various tissues in an infected chicken. They accumulated in cytoplasm due to the loss of nuclear localization function. Unlike the researches on human cancer, the concentration of P53 serum of MD infected chicken was significantly lower than control group. Conclusions: The p53 mutations were relevant with the development of MD. Detecting the concertation of P53 and P53 antibody in serum could be helpful for diagnosis and monitor of MD.