Tumor suppressor p53 is a direct transcriptional activator of the human bax gene.
The bax gene promoter region contains four motifs with homology to consensus p53-binding sites. In cotransfection assays using p53-deficient tumor cell lines, wild-type but not mutant p53 expression plasmids transactivated a reporter gene plasmid that utilized the bax gene promoter to drive transcription of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase. In addition, wild-type p53 transactivated reporter gene constructs containing a heterologous minimal promoter and a 39-bp region from the bax gene promoter in which the p53-binding site consensus sequences reside. Introduction of mutations into the consensus p53-binding site sequences abolished p53 responsiveness of reporter gene plasmids. Wild-type but not mutant p53 protein bound to oligonucleotides corresponding to this region of the bax promoter, based on gel retardation assays. Taken together, the results suggest that bax is a p53 primary-response gene, presumably involved in a p53-regulated pathway for induction of apoptosis.
La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation, California 92037.
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D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D002460:Cell Line; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase / Q000096:biosynthesis; D016384:Consensus Sequence; D003360:Cosmids; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D015723:Gene Library; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016296:Mutagenesis; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism; D010957:Plasmids; D011247:Pregnancy; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D014162:Transfection; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism*; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein
C494826:BAX protein, human; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein; D015500:Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase