Sliding into home: facilitated p53 search for targets by the basic DNA binding domain.

摘要

p53 is a unique DNA binding protein with two distinct DNA binding domains, the evolutionary conserved central domain and the C-terminal basic DNA binding domain (BD domain). The presence of two separate DNA binding domains with distinct DNA binding properties distinguishes p53 from other DNA binding proteins. Transcription factors generally bind DNA with sequence specificity but not with DNA structure specificity. DNA repair proteins generally bind DNA with structure specificity without sequence specificity. Even in the p53 gene family, the BD domain is a unique feature of vertebrate p53 proteins that is absent in p63, p73 and p53 homologues in primitive species like squid, Drosophila and Caenorhabdities. elegans. A central question is why p53 requires two DNA binding domains for its role as a tumor suppressor.