skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Crystal structure of a p53 core tetramer bound to DNA

Journal Article · · Oncogene
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/onc.2008.400· OSTI ID:1005819

The tumor suppressor p53 regulates downstream genes in response to many cellular stresses and is frequently mutated in human cancers. Here, we report the use of a crosslinking strategy to trap a tetrameric p53 DNA-binding domain (p53DBD) bound to DNA and the X-ray crystal structure of the protein/DNA complex. The structure reveals that two p53DBD dimers bind to B form DNA with no relative twist and that a p53 tetramer can bind to DNA without introducing significant DNA bending. The numerous dimer-dimer interactions involve several strictly conserved residues, thus suggesting a molecular basis for p53DBD-DNA binding cooperativity. Surface residue conservation of the p53DBD tetramer bound to DNA highlights possible regions of other p53 domain or p53 cofactor interactions.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
1005819
Journal Information:
Oncogene, Vol. 28, Issue 2009
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH