PHOSPHORYLATION AT SER-15 AND SER-392 IN MUTANT P53-MOLECULES FROM HUMAN TUMORS IS ALTERED COMPARED TO WILD-TYPE P53

The product of the p53 gene suppresses cell growth and plays a critica l role in suppressing development of human tumors. p53 protein binds D NA, activates transcription, and can be phosphorylated at N- and C-ter minal sites. Previously, wild-type p53 was shown to be hyperphosphoryl ated compared to mutant p53 during p53-mediated growth arrest in vivo. Here we show that Ser-15 and Ser-9 in the N-terminal transactivation domain of wild-type human p53 are phosphorylated in vivo in cells deri ved from the human glioblastoma line T98G. In [Ile237]p53 and [Ala143] p53, two natural p53 mutants from human tumors that are defective for activation of transcription, phosphorylation at Ser-15 was reduced and phosphorylation at Ser-392 was increased compared to wild-type p53. N o change was observed at Ser-9. [His273]p53, a third mutant, had a pho sphorylation state similar to that of wild-type p53. We suggest that p hosphorylation of Ser-15 may depend on the ability of p53 to adopt a w ild-type conformation and may contribute to p53's ability to block cel l growth.