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Post-translational modifications and activation of p53 by genotoxic stresses
Author(s): Appella E, Anderson CW
Source: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMISTRY    Volume: 268    Issue: 10    Pages: 2764-2772    Published: MAY 2001  
Times Cited: 499     References: 80     
Abstract: In unstressed cells, the tumor suppressor protein p53 is present in a latent state and is maintained at low levels through targeted degradation. A variety of genotoxic stresses initiate signaling pathways that transiently stabilize the p53 protein, cause it to accumulate in the nucleus, and activate it as a transcription factor. Activation leads either to growth arrest at the G(1)/S or G(2)/M transitions of the cell cycle or to apoptosis. Recent studies point to roles for multiple post-translational modifications in mediating these events in response to genotoxic stresses through several potentially interacting but distinct pathways. The approximate to 100 amino-acid N-terminal and approximate to 90 amino-acid C-terminal domains are highly modified by post-translational modifications. The N-terminus is heavily phosphorylated while the C-terminus contains phosphorylated, acetylated and sumoylated residues. Antibodies that recognize p53 only when it has been modified at specific sites have been developed, and studies with these reagents show that most known post-translational modifications are induced when cells are exposed to genotoxic stresses. These recent results, coupled with biochemical and genetic studies, suggest that N-terminal phosphorylations are important for stabilizing p53 and are crucial for acetylation of C-terminal sites, which in combination lead to the full p53-mediated response to genotoxic stresses. Modifications to the C-terminus inhibit the ability of this domain to negatively regulate sequence-specific DNA binding; additionally, they modulate the stability, the oligomerization state, the nuclear import/export process and the degree of ubiquitination of p53.
Document Type: Review
Language: English
Reprint Address: Appella, E (reprint author), NCI, Cell Biol Lab, NIH, Bldg 37, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA
Addresses:
1. NCI, Cell Biol Lab, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA
2. Brookhaven Natl Lab, Dept Biol, Upton, NY 11973 USA
Publisher: BLACKWELL SCIENCE LTD, P O BOX 88, OSNEY MEAD, OXFORD OX2 0NE, OXON, ENGLAND
Subject Category: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
IDS Number: 437AP
ISSN: 0014-2956
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