Lysines in the tetramerization domain of p53 selectively modulate G1 arrest.

Functional in a tetrameric state, the protein product of the p53 tumor suppressor gene confers its tumor-suppressive activity by transactivating genes which promote cell-cycle arrest, senescence, or programmed cell death. How p53 distinguishes between these divergent outcomes is still a matter of considerable interest. Here we discuss the impact of 2 mutations in the tetramerization domain that confer unique properties onto p53. By changing lysines 351 and 357 to arginine, thereby blocking all post-translational modifications of these residues, DNA binding and transcriptional regulation by p53 remain virtually unchanged. On the other hand, by changing these lysines to glutamine (2KQ-p53), thereby neutralizing their positive charge and potentially mimicking acetylation, p53 is impaired in the induction of cell cycle arrest and yet can still effectively induce cell death. Surprisingly, when 2KQ-p53 is expressed at high levels in H1299 cells, it can bind to and transactivate numerous p53 target genes including p21, but not others such as miR-34a and cyclin G1 to the same extent as wild-type p53. Our findings show that strong induction of p21 is not sufficient to block H1299 cells in G1, and imply that modification of one or both of the lysines within the tetramerization domain may serve as a mechanism to shunt p53 from inducing cell cycle arrest.

The p53 C terminus controls site-specific DNA binding and promotes structural changes within the central DNA binding domain.

DNA binding by numerous transcription factors including the p53 tumor suppressor protein constitutes a vital early step in transcriptional activation. While the role of the central core DNA binding domain (DBD) of p53 in site-specific DNA binding has been established, the contribution of the sequence-independent C-terminal domain (CTD) is still not well understood. We investigated the DNA-binding properties of a series of p53 CTD variants using a combination of in vitro biochemical analyses and in vivo binding experiments. Our results provide several unanticipated and interconnected findings. First, the CTD enables DNA binding in a sequence-dependent manner that is drastically altered by either its modification or deletion. Second, dependence on the CTD correlates with the extent to which the p53 binding site deviates from the canonical consensus sequence. Third, the CTD enables stable formation of p53-DNA complexes to divergent binding sites via DNA-induced conformational changes within the DBD itself.

The C terminus of p53 binds the N-terminal domain of MDM2.

The p53 tumor suppressor interacts with its negative regulator Mdm2 via the former's N-terminal region and core domain, yet the extreme p53 C-terminal region contains lysine residues ubiquitinated by Mdm2 and can bear post-translational modifications that inhibit Mdm2-p53 association. We show that the Mdm2-p53 interaction is decreased upon deletion, mutation or acetylation of the p53 C terminus. Mdm2 decreases the association of full-length but not C-terminally deleted p53 with a DNA target sequence in vitro and in cells. Further, using multiple approaches, we show that a peptide from the p53 C terminus directly binds the Mdm2 N terminus in vitro. We also show that p300-acetylated p53 inefficiently binds Mdm2 in vitro, and Nutlin-3 treatment induces C-terminal modification(s) of p53 in cells, explaining the low efficiency of Nutlin-3 in dissociating p53-MDM2 in vitro.

Dissection of the sequence-specific DNA binding and exonuclease activities reveals a superactive yet apoptotically impaired mutant p53 protein.

Both sequence-specific DNA binding and exonuclease activities have been mapped to the central conserved core domain of p53. To gain more information about these two activities a series of mutants were generated that changed core domain histidine residues. Of these mutants, only one, H115N p53, showed markedly reduced exonuclease activity (ca. 15% of wild-type). Surprisingly, purified H115N p53 protein was found to be significantly more potent than wild-type p53 in binding to DNA by several criteria including gel mobility shift assay, filter binding and DNase I footprinting. Interestingly as well, non-specific DNA binding by the core domain of H115N p53 is superior to that of wild-type p53. To study H115N p53 in vivo, clones of H1299 cells expressing tetracycline regulated wild-type or H115N p53 were generated. H115N was both more potent than wild-type p53 in inducing p53 target genes such as p21 and PIG3 and was also more effective in arresting cells in G1. Unexpectedly, in contrast to wild-type p53, H115N p53 was markedly impaired in causing apoptosis when cells were subjected to DNA damage. Our results indicate that the exonuclease activity and transcriptional activation functions of p53 can be separated. They also extend previous findings showing that cell cycle arrest and apoptosis are separable functions of p53. Finally, these experiments confirm that DNA binding and xonuclease activities are distinct features of the p53 core domain.

p53 is localized to a sub-nucleolar compartment after proteasomal inhibition in an energy-dependent manner.

The tumor suppressor p53 is activated in response to many forms of cellular stress leading to cell cycle arrest, senescence or apoptosis. Appropriate sub-cellular localization is essential for modulating p53 function. We recently showed that p53 localizes to the nucleolus after proteasome inhibition with MG132 and this localization requires sequences within its carboxyl terminus. In the present study, we found that after treatment with MG132, p53 associates with a discrete sub-nucleolar component, the fibrillar center (FC), a region mainly enriched with RNA polymerase I. Moreover, we now demonstrate that this localization is an energy-dependent process as reduction of ATP levels prevents nucleolar localization. In addition, p53 sub-nucleolar accumulation is abolished when cells are subjected to various types of genotoxic stress. Furthermore, we show that monoubiquitination of p53, which causes it to localize to the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm, does not prevent the association of p53 with the nucleolus after MG132 treatment. Importantly, we demonstrate that p53 nucleolar association occurs in lung and bladder carcinomas.

Mutational analysis of the p53 core domain L1 loop.

The p53 tumor suppressor gene acquires missense mutations in over 50% of human cancers, and most of these mutations occur within the central core DNA binding domain. One structurally defined region of the core, the L1 loop (residues 112-124), is a mutational "cold spot" in which relatively few tumor-derived mutations have been identified. To further understand the L1 loop, we subjected this region to both alanine- and arginine-scanning mutagenesis and tested mutants for DNA binding in vitro. Select mutants were then analyzed for transactivation and cell cycle analysis in either transiently transfected cells or cells stably expressing wild-type and mutant proteins at regulatable physiological levels. We focused most extensively on two p53 L1 loop mutants, T123A and K120A. The T123A mutant p53 displayed significantly better DNA binding in vitro as well as stronger transactivation and apoptotic activity in vivo than wild-type p53, particularly toward its pro-apoptotic target AIP1. By contrast, K120A mutant p53, although capable of strong binding in vitro and wild-type levels of transactivation and apoptosis when transfected into cells, showed impaired activity when expressed at normal cellular levels. Our experiments indicate a weaker affinity for DNA in vivo by K120A p53 as the main reason for its defects in transactivation and apoptosis. Overall, our findings demonstrate an important, yet highly modular role for the L1 loop in the recognition of specific DNA sequences, target transactivation, and apoptotic signaling by p53.