Fat-cell survival shield (p21)
p21 (fat-cell survival shield)↓
Also searched as p21 (fat-cell survival shield).
In fat it keeps swollen cells alive: knocking it down in the fat of obese mice set off their programmed death. Lower is the direction a fat-cell-number formula works; the same protein climbs in aging tissue as a marker of senescence.
In depth
p21 (CDKN1A) — a cell-cycle brake that an enlarged fat cell also raises to shield itself from programmed death.
What it drives
It reduces Fat cell clearance.
Thus, p21 is involved in both adipocyte differentiation and in protecting hypertrophied adipocytes against apoptosis. doi 10.1074/jbc.M801824200
Blends that modulate it
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See it on the map
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