Isolation and characterization of DNA sequences that are specifically bound by wild-type p53 protein.

Wild-type p53 was shown to function as a transcription factor. The N-terminal region of the protein contains the transcription activation domain, while the C terminus is responsible for DNA binding. Localization of the DNA-binding domain of the p53 protein to the highly conserved carboxy-terminal region suggests that the interaction of p53 with DNA is important for its function. We have developed a strategy for studying the DNA sequence specificity of p53-DNA binding that is based on random sequence selection. We report here on the isolation of murine genomic DNA clones that are specifically bound by the wild-type p53 protein but are not bound by mutant p53 protein forms. The isolated p53 target gene contains the unique DNA-binding sequence GACACTGGTCACACTTGGCTGCTTAGGAAT. This fragment exhibits promoter activity as measured by its capacity to activate transcription of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene. Our results suggest that p53 directly binds DNA and functions as a typical transcription factor.