Point Mutations Effects on Charge Transport Properties of the Tumor-Suppressor Gene $p53$

We report on a theoretical study of point mutations effects on charge transfer properties in the DNA sequence of the tumor-suppressor $p53$ gene. On the basis of effective tight-binding models which simulate hole propagation along the DNA, a statistical analysis of mutation-induced charge transfer modifications is performed. In contrast to non-cancerous mutations, mutation hotspots tend to result in significantly weaker {\em changes of transmission properties}. This suggests that charge transport could play a significant role for DNA-repairing deficiency yielding carcinogenesis.