Full-length p53 tetramer bound to DNA and its quaternary dynamics

Oncogene. 2017 Mar 9;36(10):1451-1460. doi: 10.1038/onc.2016.321. Epub 2016 Sep 19.

Abstract

P53 is a major tumor suppressor that is mutated and inactivated in ~50% of all human cancers. Thus, reactivation of mutant p53 using small molecules has been a long sought-after anticancer therapeutic strategy. Full structural characterization of the full-length oligomeric p53 is challenging because of its complex architecture and multiple highly flexible regions. To explore p53 structural dynamics, here we developed a series of atomistic integrative models with available crystal structures of the full-length p53 (fl-p53) tetramer bound to three different DNA sequences: a p21 response element, a puma response element and a nonspecific DNA sequence. Explicitly solvated, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of the three complexes (totaling nearly 1 μs of aggregate simulation time) yield final structures consistent with electron microscopy maps and, for the first time, show the direct interactions of the p53 C-terminal with DNA. Through a collective principal component analysis, we identify sequence-dependent differential quaternary binding modes of the p53 tetramer interfacing with DNA. Additionally, L1 loop dynamics of fl-p53 in the presence of DNA is revealed, and druggable pockets of p53 are identified via solvent mapping to aid future drug discovery studies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Binding Sites / genetics
  • DNA / metabolism*
  • Drug Discovery / methods
  • Principal Component Analysis / methods
  • Protein Binding / physiology
  • Protein Structure, Quaternary
  • Response Elements / genetics
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / metabolism*

Substances

  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
  • DNA