Interactions of Chromatin Context,Binding Site Sequence Content,and Sequence Evolution in Stress-Induced p53 Occupancy and Transactivation

Cellular stresses activate the tumor suppressor p53 protein leading to selective binding to DNA response elements (REs) and gene transactivation from a large pool of potential p53 REs (p53REs). To elucidate how p53RE sequences and local chromatin context interact to affect p53 binding and gene transactivation, we mapped genome-wide binding localizations of p53 and H3K4me3 in untreated and doxorubicin (DXR)-treated human lymphoblastoid cells. We examined the relationships among p53 occupancy, gene expression, H3K4me3, chromatin accessibility (DNase 1 hypersensitivity, DHS), ENCODE chromatin states, p53RE sequence, and evolutionary conservation. We observed that the inducible expression of p53-regulated genes was associated with the steady-state chromatin status of the cell. Most highly inducible p53-regulated genes were suppressed at baseline and marked by repressive histone modifications or displayed CTCF binding. Comparison of p53RE sequences residing in different chromatin contexts demonstrated that weaker p53REs resided in open promoters, while stronger p53REs were located within enhancers and repressed chromatin. p53 occupancy was strongly correlated with similarity of the target DNA sequences to the p53RE consensus, but surprisingly, inversely correlated with pre-existing nucleosome accessibility (DHS) and evolutionary conservation at the p53RE. Occupancy by p53 of REs that overlapped transposable element (TE) repeats was significantly higher (p<10⁻⁷) and correlated with stronger p53RE sequences (p<10⁻¹¹⁰) relative to nonTE-associated p53REs, particularly for MLT1H, LTR10B, and Mer61 TEs. However, binding at these elements was generally not associated with transactivation of adjacent genes. Occupied p53REs located in L2-like TEs were unique in displaying highly negative PhyloP scores (predicted fast-evolving) and being associated with altered H3K4me3 and DHS levels. These results underscore the systematic interaction between chromatin status and p53RE context in the induced transactivation response. This p53 regulated response appears to have been tuned via evolutionary processes that may have led to repression and/or utilization of p53REs originating from primate-specific transposon elements.     

Noncanonical DNA motifs as transactivation targets by wild type and mutant p53

Sequence-specific binding by the human p53 master regulator is critical to its tumor suppressor activity in response to environmental stresses. p53 binds as a tetramer to two decameric half-sites separated by 0-13 nucleotides (nt), originally defined by the consensus RRRCWWGYYY (n = 0-13) RRRCWWGYYY. To better understand the role of sequence, organization, and level of p53 on transactivation at target response elements (REs) by wild type (WT) and mutant p53, we deconstructed the functional p53 canonical consensus sequence using budding yeast and human cell systems. Contrary to early reports on binding in vitro, small increases in distance between decamer half-sites greatly reduces p53 transactivation, as demonstrated for the natural TIGER RE. This was confirmed with human cell extracts using a newly developed, semi-in vitro microsphere binding assay. These results contrast with the synergistic increase in transactivation from a pair of weak, full-site REs in the MDM2 promoter that are separated by an evolutionary conserved 17 bp spacer. Surprisingly, there can be substantial transactivation at noncanonical (1/2)-(a single decamer) and (3/4)-sites, some of which were originally classified as biologically relevant canonical consensus sequences including PIDD and Apaf-1. p53 family members p63 and p73 yielded similar results. Efficient transactivation from noncanonical elements requires tetrameric p53, and the presence of the carboxy terminal, non-specific DNA binding domain enhanced transactivation from noncanonical sequences. Our findings demonstrate that RE sequence, organization, and level of p53 can strongly impact p53-mediated transactivation, thereby changing the view of what constitutes a functional p53 target. Importantly, inclusion of (1/2)- and (3/4)-site REs greatly expands the p53 master regulatory network.     

Human single-nucleotide polymorphisms alter p53 sequence-specific binding at gene regulatory elements

p53 coordinates the expression of an intricate network of genes in response to stress signals. Sequence-specific DNA binding is essential for p53-mediated tumor suppression. We evaluated the impact of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in p53 response elements (p53RE) on DNA binding and gene expression in response to DNA damage. Using a bioinformatics approach based on incorporating p53 binding strength into a position weight matrix, we selected 32 SNPs in putative and validated p53REs. The microsphere assay for protein–DNA binding (MAPD) and allele-specific expression analysis was employed to assess the impact of SNPs on p53-DNA binding and gene expression, respectively. Comparing activated p53 binding in nuclear extracts from doxorubicin- or ionizing radiation (IR)-treated human cells, we observed little difference in binding profiles. Significant p53 binding was observed for most polymorphic REs and several displayed binding comparable to the p21 RE. SNP alleles predicted to lower p53 binding indeed reduced binding in 25 of the 32 sequences. Chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing in lymphoblastoid cells confirmed p53 binding to seven polymorphic p53 REs in response to doxorubicin. In addition, five polymorphisms were associated with altered gene expression following doxorubicin treatment. Our findings demonstrate an effective strategy to identify and evaluate SNPs that may alter p53-mediated stress responses.     

Conformations of p53 response elements in solution deduced using site-directed spin labeling and Monte Carlo sampling

The tumor suppressor protein p53 regulates numerous signaling pathways by specifically recognizing diverse p53 response elements (REs). Understanding the mechanisms of p53-DNA interaction requires structural information on p53 REs. However, such information is limited as a 3D structure of any RE in the unbound form is not available yet. Here, site-directed spin labeling was used to probe the solution structures of REs involved in p53 regulation of the p21 and Bax genes. Multiple nanometer distances in the p21-RE and BAX-RE, measured using a nucleotide-independent nitroxide probe and double-electron-electron-resonance spectroscopy, were used to derive molecular models of unbound REs from pools of all-atom structures generated by Monte-Carlo simulations, thus enabling analyses to reveal sequence-dependent DNA shape features of unbound REs in solution. The data revealed distinct RE conformational changes on binding to the p53 core domain, and support the hypothesis that sequence-dependent properties encoded in REs are exploited by p53 to achieve the energetically most favorable mode of deformation, consequently enhancing binding specificity. This work reveals mechanisms of p53-DNA recognition, and establishes a new experimental/computational approach for studying DNA shape in solution that has far-reaching implications for studying protein–DNA interactions.     

Transactivation specificity is conserved among p53 family proteins and depends on a response element sequence code

Structural and biochemical studies have demonstrated that p73, p63 and p53 recognize DNA with identical amino acids and similar binding affinity. Here, measuring transactivation activity for a large number of response elements (REs) in yeast and human cell lines, we show that p53 family proteins also have overlapping transactivation profiles. We identified mutations at conserved amino acids of loops L1 and L3 in the DNA-binding domain that tune the transactivation potential nearly equally in p73, p63 and p53. For example, the mutant S139F in p73 has higher transactivation potential towards selected REs, enhanced DNA-binding cooperativity in vitro and a flexible loop L1 as seen in the crystal structure of the protein–DNA complex. By studying, how variations in the RE sequence affect transactivation specificity, we discovered a RE-transactivation code that predicts enhanced transactivation; this correlation is stronger for promoters of genes associated with apoptosis.     

Redox state of tumor suppressor p53 regulates its sequence-specific DNA binding in DNA-damaged cells by cysteine 277

Using a bio-oligo pull-down DNA-binding assay we investigated the binding capacity of endogenous, DNA damage-induced p53 in human diploid fibroblasts to several p53-responsive elements (REs) present in p53-regulated genes. During the course of p53 accumulation, we observed a decrease in p53 binding to the GADD45 but not to the p21^WAF1/CIP1 RE. Using mutated GADD45 sequences we show that this change is dependent on the presence of cytosines at position 3 in RE pentamers and on the p53 redox state. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments demonstrated that Cys277 (a residue directly contacting base 3 in a RE pentamer) is critical for differential regulation of GADD45 in DNA-damaged cells. These data represent a novel mechanism for differential affinity of p53 to distinct REs.     

Probing potential binding modes of the p53 tetramer to DNA based on the symmetries encoded in p53 response elements

Symmetries in the p53 response-element (p53RE) encode binding modes for p53 tetramer to recognize DNA. We investigated the molecular mechanisms and biological implications of the possible binding modes. The probabilities evaluated with molecular dynamics simulations and DNA sequence analyses were found to be correlated, indicating that p53 tetramer models studied here are able to read DNA sequence information. The traditionally believed mode with four p53 monomers binding at all four DNA quarter-sites does not cause linear DNA to bend. Alternatively, p53 tetramer can use only two monomers to recognize DNA sequence and induce DNA bending. With an arrangement of dimer of AB dimer observed in p53 trimer–DNA complex crystal, p53 can recognize supercoiled DNA sequence-specifically by binding to quarter-sites one and four (H14 mode) and recognize Holliday junction geometry-specifically. Examining R273H mutation and p53–DNA interactions, we found that at least three R273H monomers are needed to disable the p53 tetramer, consistent with experiments. But just one R273H monomer may greatly shift the binding mode probabilities. Our work suggests that p53 needs balanced binding modes to maintain genome stability. Inverse repeat p53REs favor the H14 mode and direct repeat p53REs may have high possibilities of other modes.     

Impact of Alu repeats on the evolution of human p53 binding sites

Background  

The p53 tumor suppressor protein is involved in a complicated regulatory network, mediating expression of ~1000 human genes. Recent studies have shown that many p53 in vivo binding sites (BSs) reside in transposable repeats. The relationship between these BSs and functional p53 response elements (REs) remains unknown, however. We sought to understand whether the p53 REs also reside in transposable elements and particularly in the most-abundant Alu repeats.