The newly identified p53 homolog p73 can mimic the transcriptional activation function of p53. We investigated whether p73, like p53, participates in an autoregulatory feedback loop with MDM2. p73 bound to MDM2 both in vivo and in vitro. Wild-type but not mutant MDM2, expressed in human p53 null osteosarcoma Saos-2 cells, inhibited p73- and p53-dependent transcription driven by the MDM2 promoter-derived p53RE motif as measured in transient-transfection and chloramphenicol acetyltransferase assays and also inhibited p73-induced apoptosis in p53-null human lung adenocarcinoma H1299 cells. MDM2 did not promote the degradation of p73 but instead disrupted the interaction of p73, but not of p53, with p300/CBP by competing with p73 for binding to the p300/CBP N terminus. Both p73alpha and p73beta stimulated the expression of the endogenous MDM2 protein. Hence, MDM2 is transcriptionally activated by p73 and, in turn, negatively regulates the function of this activator through a mechanism distinct from that used for p53 inactivation.

Phosphorylation of the human p53 protein at Ser-392 has been shown to be responsive to UV but not gamma irradiation. Here we describe identification and purification of a mammalian UV-activated protein kinase complex that phosphorylates Ser-392 of p53 in vitro. This kinase complex contains casein kinase 2 (CK2) and the chromatin transcriptional elongation factor FACT (a heterodimer of hSpt16 and SSRP1). In vitro studies show that FACT alters the specificity of CK2 in the complex such that it selectively phosphorylates p53 over other substrates including casein. In addition, phosphorylation by the kinase complex enhances p53 activity. These results thus provide a potential mechanism for p53 activation by UV irradiation.

p300 acetylates and activates the tumor suppressor p53 after DNA damage. Here, we show that MDM2, a negative-feedback regulator of p53, inhibited p300-mediated p53 acetylation by complexing with these two proteins. First, we purified a p300 -MDM2-p53 protein complex from HeLa nuclear extracts, which was inactive in p53 acetylation, but active in histone acetylation. Also, wild-type, but not N-terminally deleted, MDM2 inhibited p53 acetylation by p300 in vitro and in vivo. This inhibition was specific for p53, because MDM2 did not affect acetylation of histones or the C terminus of p73 by p300. Consequently, wild-type, but not the mutant, MDM2 repressed the p300-stimulated sequence-specific DNA-binding and transcriptional activities of p53. These results demonstrate that an additional mechanism of p53 inactivation by MDM2 is to inhibit p53 acetylation by p300.

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The newly identified p53 homolog p73 mimics the transcriptional function of p53. We have investigated the regulation of p73's transcriptional activity by p300/CREB binding protein (CBP). p73-p300 complexes were identified in HeLa cell extracts by cofractionation and coimmunoprecipitation assays. The p73-p300 interaction was confirmed in vitro by glutathione S-transferase-protein association assays and in vivo by coimmunoprecipitating the overexpressed p300 and p73 in human p53-free small-cell lung carcinoma H1299 or osteosarcoma Saos-2 cells. The N terminus but not the N-terminal truncation of p73 bound to the CH1 domain (amino acids [aa] 350 to 450) of p300/CBP. Accordingly, this p73 N-terminal deletion was unable to activate transcription or to induce apoptosis. Overexpression of either p300 or CBP stimulated transcription mediated by p73 but not its N-terminally deleted mutant in vivo. The N-terminal fragment from aa 19 to 597, but not the truncated fragment from aa 242 to 1700 of p300, reduced p73-mediated transcription markedly. p73-dependent transcription or apoptosis was partially impaired in either p300-or CBP-deficient human breast carcinoma MCF-7 or H1299 cells, suggesting that both coactivators mediate transcription by p73 in cells. These results demonstrate that the N terminus of p73 directly interacts with the N-terminal CH1 domain of p300/CBP to activate transcription.

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The cellular interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene contains a target site for the mammalian transcriptional repressor RBP. The target site is contained within the interleukin response element (ILRE), which mediates IL-6 activation by NF-kappa B. In this study, we show by using transient-expression assays that RBP represses activated transcription from the IL-6 gene. The presence and position of the RBP target site are crucial in mediating repression by RBP. While RBP binds within the ILRE, it does not target NF-kappa B alone; nonetheless, NF-kappa B binding to the ILRE is required for repression. Our results indicate that RBP represses coactivation by NF-kappa B and another cellular transcription factor, C/EBP-beta.

We previously reported that p73, like p53, utilizes p300 or cAMP-response element-binding protein-binding protein as its coactivator. Here, we extended this work by further examining whether the intrinsic acetylase activity of p300 is necessary for stimulating p73 function. Although p300 acetylated the C-terminal fragment of p73 (amino acids 311-636) in vitro, it was unable to efficiently acetylate the full-length p73. Consistently, p300 did not acetylate p73 in vivo when both the proteins were overexpressed in cells. Also, an acetylase-defective mutant p300 named p300AT2 was able to elevate p73-dependent transcription in cells. p300 associated with p73 when forming DNA-protein complexes and stabilized p73 proteins. These results demonstrate that p300 does not need its acetylase activity to be a coactivator of