title: Transcriptional control of late differentiation in human keratinocytes by TAp63 and Notch.
abstract: We previously showed that in cervical carcinoma cells, the TAp63β isoform of the p63 transcription factor is negatively interfering with the carcinogenic pathways promoting anchorage-independent growth. In this study, we have defined the mechanisms underlying the effects of TAp63β through a transcriptome analysis of human keratinocytes overexpressing this protein. TAp63β modulated expression of 1203 genes (944 activated and 259 repressed; P-value <0.05), notably genes involved in epithelial development and keratinocyte differentiation. In comparison, while TAp63γ acts similarly to TAp63β to transactivate a selected panel of target genes, other p63 isoforms, including ΔNp63α, which is highly expressed in keratinocytes, are inactive. Upon induction of differentiation of primary human keratinocytes, we observed endogenous expression of TAp63β and γ isoforms, along with transcriptional activation of selected target genes. Intriguingly, our data also indicated that TAp63β activates transcription of members of the Notch pathway, which is known to promote keratinocyte differentiation. By inhibiting and activating the Notch pathway, we revealed a subset of TAp63β-activated genes that were co-dependent on Notch for their expression. Our work demonstrates that the shorter TAp63 isoforms (TAp63β/γ) are specifically induced in human keratinocytes and cooperate with Notch signalling to activate transcription of late differentiation genes supporting their role as putative tumor suppressors in HPV-associated tumorigenesis.
authors.affiliation: Papillomavirus Regulation and Cancer Laboratory, Institute of Medical Biology, Biopolis, Singapore City, Singapore.
authors.forename: Li Fang
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.affiliation: Papillomavirus Regulation and Cancer Laboratory, Institute of Medical Biology, Biopolis, Singapore City, Singapore.
authors.forename: Boon Kiat
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Papillomavirus Regulation and Cancer Laboratory, Institute of Medical Biology, Biopolis, Singapore City, Singapore.
authors.forename: Juliette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bertrand
authors.affiliation: Papillomavirus Regulation and Cancer Laboratory, Institute of Medical Biology, Biopolis, Singapore City, Singapore.
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Thierry
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D002460:Cell Line; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D012313:RNA / Q000032:analysis; D051880:Receptors, Notch / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020033:Protein Isoforms; D051880:Receptors, Notch; C115051:TP63 protein, human; D014157:Transcription Factors; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D012313:RNA
keywords: TAp63; human keratinocyte differentiation; transcriptional activation