Generation and characterization of p53 mutant mice.

p53 is one of the most well-characterized members of the tumor suppressor gene family. The role of p53 in controlling cellular homeostasis has proven critical, with over half of all human tumors having either lost or mutated p53. The emergence of technology facilitating the ablation of a gene within an animal's genome allowed great advances in the study of p53.

Generation and characterization of p53 null transformed hepatic progenitor cells: oval cells give rise to hepatocellular carcinoma.

Oval cells are bipotential liver stem cells able to differentiate into hepatocytes and bile duct epithelia. In normal adult liver oval cells are quiescent, existing in low numbers around the periportal region, and proliferate following severe, prolonged liver trauma. There is evidence implicating oval cells in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, and hence the availability of an immortalized oval cell line would be invaluable for the study of liver cell lineage differentiation and carcinogenesis.