title: Homeodomain protein Dlx3 induces phosphorylation-dependent p63 degradation.
abstract: The epidermis is a stratified epithelium which develops depending on the transcription factor p63, a member of the p53 family of transcription factors. p63 is strongly expressed in the innermost basal layer where highly proliferative epithelial cells reside. p63 functions as a molecular switch that initiates epithelial stratification or cell fate determination while regulating proliferation and differentiation of developmentally mature keratinocytes. p63 acts upstream of Dlx3 homeobox gene in a transcriptional regulatory pathway relevant to ectodermal dysplasia. Here we show that Dlx3 triggers p63 protein degradation by a proteasome-dependent pathway. Mutant DeltaNp63alpha in which Threonine397 and Serine383 were replaced with Alanine as well as C-terminal truncated versions of DeltaNp63alpha are resistant to Dlx3-mediated degradation. Transient expression of Dlx3 is associated with Raf1 phosphorylation. Dlx3 is unable to promote p63 degradation in Raf1 depleted MEF cells or upon pharmacological knockdown of Raf1. Our data support a previously unrecognized role for Dlx3 in posttranslational regulation of DeltaNp63alpha protein level, a mechanism that may contribute to reduce the abundance of DeltaNp63alpha during differentiation of stratified epithelia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural and Molecular Biology, University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Costanzo
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Festa
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Duverger
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vivo
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guerrini
authors.forename: Girolama
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: La Mantia
authors.forename: Maria I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Morasso
authors.forename: Viola
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Calabrò
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D015536:Down-Regulation; D006207:Half-Life; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010766:Phosphorylation; D046988:Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D048490:raf Kinases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; C088334:Distal-less homeobox proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C115051:TP63 protein, human; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D048490:raf Kinases; D046988:Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex