PMID: 11329373May 1, 2001Paper

Accumulation of soluble and nucleolar-associated p53 proteins following cellular stress

Journal of Cell Science
S A KlibanovMats Ljungman

Abstract

The tumor suppressor p53 is a nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein that accumulates in the nucleus of cells exposed to various cellular stresses. One important role of nuclear p53 is to mobilize a stress response by transactivating target genes such as the p21(Waf1) gene. In this study, we investigated more closely the localization of p53 in cells following various stresses. Immunocytochemistry of fixed human fibroblasts treated with either UV light, the kinase and transcription inhibitor DRB or the proteasome inhibitor MG132 revealed abundant p53 localized to the nucleus. When cells treated with UV or DRB were permeabilized prior to fixation to allow soluble proteins to diffuse, the nuclear p53 signal was abolished. However, in cells treated with MG132, residual p53 localized to distinct large foci. Furthermore, nucleolin co-localized with p53 to these foci, suggesting that these foci were nucleolar structures. Interestingly, the MDM2 protein was found to co-localize with p53 to nucleolar structures following proteasome inhibition. Our results suggest that the p53 proteins accumulating in the nucleus following UV-irradiation or blockage of transcription are freely soluble and, thus, should be able to roam the nucleus to ensure ...Continue Reading

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Cell Checkpoints & Regulators

Cell cycle checkpoints are a series of complex checkpoint mechanisms that detect DNA abnormalities and ensure that DNA replication and repair are complete before cell division. They are primarily regulated by cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinases, and the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome. Here is the latest research.