title: Relief of p53-mediated transcriptional repression by the adenovirus E1B 19-kDa protein or the cellular Bcl-2 protein.
abstract: The p53 tumor suppressor gene product is a transcriptional regulatory protein. It activates transcription from promoters that contain a p53 DNA binding site but represses many promoters that lack its binding site. High-level expression of wild-type p53 can induce apoptosis in certain cell types, and this activity can be blocked by the adenovirus E1B 19-kDa oncoprotein or by the cellular Bcl-2 oncoprotein. Here we report that p53-mediated repression of promoters that lack a p53 binding site is abrogated by the E1B 19-kDa protein or Bcl-2 oncoprotein. In contrast, transcriptional activation by p53 still occurs in the presence of either protein. The fact that two oncoproteins capable of preventing p53-mediated apoptosis also block transcriptional repression by p53 raises the possibility that p53 might induce apoptosis, at least in part, by repressing transcription.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, NJ 08544-1014.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shenk
mesh_terms: D017501:Adenovirus E1B Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D017209:Apoptosis; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D017501:Adenovirus E1B Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53