p53: The Barrier or Guardian for Cell Dedifferentiation?

Cancer is a leading cause of human death, but it is still not fully understood. Recent cell biology advances in dedifferentiation have improved the understanding of cancer initiation and development. Dedifferentiation, or cell conversion to a less differentiated state, plays an essential role in the regeneration of multicellular organisms. Stem cells derived from dedifferentiated cells may be a new resource for regenerative medicine. However, the genetic changes responsible for dedifferentiation are found to be involved in tumorigenesis, which indicates safety concerns for the application of dedifferentiation-derived stem cells, such as induced pluripotent stem cells. Understanding the relationship between dedifferentiation and tumorigenesis is not only helpful to the development of more efficacious cancer prevention and treatment but also pivotal to the safe application of dedifferentiation-derived cells in clinical settings. In this article, we discuss the involvement of dedifferentiation in the initiation of cancer and the role of p53 in cell dedifferentiation.