Pathway: Regulation of TP53 Activity through Association with Co-factors

Reactions in pathway: Regulation of TP53 Activity through Association with Co-factors :

Regulation of TP53 Activity through Association with Co-factors

Association of TP53 (p53) with various transcriptional co-factors can promote, inhibit or provide specificity towards either transcription of cell cycle arrest genes or transcription of cell death genes. Binding of the zinc finger protein ZNF385A (HZF), which is a transcriptional target of TP53, stimulates transcription of cell cycle arrest genes, such as CDKN1A (Das et al. 2007). Binding of POU4F1 (BRN3A) to TP53 also stimulates transcription of cell cycle arrest genes while inhibiting transcription of pro-apoptotic genes (Budhram-Mahadeo et al. 1999, Hudson et al. 2005).

Binding of ASPP family proteins PPP1R13B (ASPP1) or TP53BP2 (ASPP2) to TP53 stimulates transcription of pro-apoptotic TP53 targets (Samuels-Lev et al. 2001, Bergamaschi et al. 2004). Binding of the ASPP family member PPP1R13L (iASSP) inhibits TP53-mediated activation of pro-apoptotic genes probably by interfering with binding of stimulatory ASPPs to TP53 (Bergamaschi et al. 2003). Transcription of pro-apoptotic genes is also stimulated by binding of TP53 to POU4F2 (BRN3B) (Budrham-Mahadeo et al. 2006, Budhram-Mahadeo et al. 2014) or to hCAS/CSE1L (Tanaka et al. 2007).

Binding of co-factors to TP53 can also affect protein stability. For example, PHF20 binds to TP53 dimethylated on lysine residues K370 and K382 by unidentified protein lysine methyltransferase(s) and interferes with MDM2 binding, resulting in prolonged TP53 half-life (Cui et al. 2012). Long noncoding RNAs can contribute to p53-dependent transcriptional responses (Huarte et al. 2010). For a general review on this topic, see Espinosa 2008, Beckerman and Prives 2010, Murray-Zmijewski et al. 2008, An et al. 2004 and Barsotti and Prives 2010.

RNA Polymerase II Transcription

RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is the central enzyme that catalyses DNA- directed mRNA synthesis during the transcription of protein-coding genes. Pol II consists of a 10-subunit catalytic core, which alone is capable of elongating the RNA transcript, and a complex of two subunits, Rpb4/7, that is required for transcription initiation.
The transcription cycle is divided in three major phases: initiation, elongation, and termination. Transcription initiation include promoter DNA binding, DNA melting, and initial synthesis of short RNA transcripts. The transition from initiation to elongation, is referred to as promoter escape and leads to a stable elongation complex that is characterized by an open DNA region or transcription bubble. The bubble contains the DNA-RNA hybrid, a heteroduplex of eight to nine base pairs. The growing 3-end of the RNA is engaged with the polymerase complex active site. Ultimately transcription terminates and Pol II dissocitates from the template.

Gene expression (Transcription)

Gene expression encompasses transcription and translation and the regulation of these processes. RNA Polymerase I Transcription produces the large preribosomal RNA transcript (45S pre-rRNA) that is processed to yield 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, and 5.8S rRNA, accounting for about half the RNA in a cell. RNA Polymerase II transcription produces messenger RNAs (mRNA) as well as a subset of non-coding RNAs including many small nucleolar RNAs (snRNA) and microRNAs (miRNA). RNA Polymerase III Transcription produces transfer RNAs (tRNA), 5S RNA, 7SL RNA, and U6 snRNA. Transcription from mitochondrial promoters is performed by the mitochondrial RNA polymerase, POLRMT, to yield long transcripts from each DNA strand that are processed to yield 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, tRNAs, and a few RNAs encoding components of the electron transport chain. Regulation of gene expression can be divided into epigenetic regulation, transcriptional regulation, and post-transcription regulation (comprising translational efficiency and RNA stability). Epigenetic regulation of gene expression is the result of heritable chemical modifications to DNA and DNA-binding proteins such as histones. Epigenetic changes result in altered chromatin complexes that influence transcription. Gene Silencing by RNA mostly occurs post-transcriptionally but can also affect transcription. Small RNAs originating from the genome (miRNAs) or from exogenous RNA (siRNAs) are processed and transferred to the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), which interacts with complementary RNA to cause cleavage, translational inhibition, or transcriptional inhibition.