Cell Signaling Technology

Product Pathways - Cell Cycle / Checkpoint

SignalSilence® p53 siRNA (Human Specific) #6231

Western Blotting

Western Blotting

Western blot analysis of extracts from HeLa cells transfected with non-targeted (-) or targeted (+) siRNA. p53 was detected using the p53 Antibody #9282, and p42 MAPK was detected using the p42 MAPK Antibody #9108. The p53 Antibody confirms silencing of p53 expression, and the p42 MAPK Antibody was used to control for loading and specificity of p53 siRNA.

Fluorescent Detection

Fluorescent Detection

Fluorescent detection of SignalSilence® Control siRNA (Fluorescein Conjugate) #6201 in living HeLa cells 24 hours post-transfection, demonstrating nearly 100% transfection efficiency.

Directions for Use

CST recommends transfection with 50 nM human-specific p53 siRNA 24 hours prior to cell lysis. See protocol for transfection procedure. For transfection procedure, follow protocol provided by the transfection reagent manufacturer. Please feel free to contact CST with any questions on use.

Background

The p53 tumor suppressor protein plays a major role in cellular response to DNA damage and other genomic aberrations. Activation of p53 can lead to either cell cycle arrest and DNA repair or apoptosis (1). p53 is phosphorylated at multiple sites in vivo and by several different protein kinases in vitro (2,3). DNA damage induces phosphorylation of p53 at Ser15 and Ser20 and leads to a reduced interaction between p53 and its negative regulator, the oncoprotein MDM2 (4). MDM2 inhibits p53 accumulation by targeting it for ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation (6,7). p53 can be phosphorylated by ATM, ATR and DNA-PK at Ser15 and Ser37. Phosphorylation impairs the ability of MDM2 to bind p53, promoting both the accumulation and activation of p53 in response to DNA damage (4,5). Chk2 and Chk1 can phosphorylate p53 at Ser20, enhancing its tetramerization, stability and activity (8,9). p53 is phosphorylated at Ser392 in vivo (11,12) and by CAK in vitro (12). Phosphorylation of p53 at Ser392 is increased in human tumors (14) and has been reported to influence the growth suppressor function, DNA binding and transcriptional activation of p53 (10,11,13). p53 is phosphorylated at Ser6 and Ser9 by CK1δ and CK1ε both in vitro and in vivo (10,15). Phosphorylation of p53 at Ser46 regulates the ability of p53 to induce apoptosis (16). Acetylation of p53 is mediated by p300 and CBP acetyltransferases. Inhibition of deacetylation suppressing MDM2 from recruiting HDAC1 complex by p19 (ARF) stabilizes p53. Acetylation appears to play a positive role in the accumulation of p53 protein in stress response (17). Following DNA damage, human p53 becomes acetylated at Lys382 (Lys379 in mouse) in vivo to enhance p53-DNA binding (18). Deacetylation of p53 occurs through interaction with the SIRT1 protein, a deacetylase that may be involved in cellular aging and the DNA damage response (19).

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) has been used to specifically silence p53 expression in human tumor cells (17).

  1. Levine, A.J. (1997) Cell 88, 323-331.
  2. Meek, D.W. (1994) Semin. Cancer Biol. 5, 203-210.
  3. Milczarek, G.J. et al. (1997) Life Sci. 60, 1-11.
  4. Shieh, S.Y. et al. (1997) Cell 91, 325-334.
  5. Tibbetts, R.S. et al. (1999) Genes Dev. 13, 152-157.
  6. Chehab, N.H. et al. (1999) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96, 13777-13782.
  7. Honda, R. et al. (1997) FEBS Lett. 420, 25-27.
  8. Shieh, S.Y. et al. (1999) EMBO J. 18, 1815-1823.
  9. Hirao, A. et al. (2000) Science 287, 1824-1827.
  10. Kohn, K.W. (1999) Mol. Biol. Cell 10, 2703-2734.
  11. Hao, M. et al. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 29380-29385.
  12. Lu, H. et al. (1997) Mol. Cell. Biol. 17, 5923-5934.
  13. Lohrum, M. and Scheidtmann, K.H. (1996) Oncogene 13, 2527-2539.
  14. Ulrich, S.J. et al. (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90, 5954-5958.
  15. Knippschild, U. et al. (1997) Oncogene 15, 1727-1736.
  16. Oda, K. et al. (2000) Cell 102, 849-862.
  17. Ito, A. et al. (2001) EMBO J. 20, 1331-1340.
  18. Sakaguchi, K. et al. (1998) Genes Dev. 12, 2831-2841.
  19. Solomon, J.M. et al. (2006) Mol. Cell. Biol. 26, 28-38.
  20. Irwin, M. S. et al. (2003) Cancer Cell 3(4) , 403-410.

Application References

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Companion Products

Limited Use Label License, RNA interference: This product is licensed under European Patent 1144623 and foreign equivalents from Ribopharma AG, Kulmbach, Germany and is provided only for use in non-commercial research specifically excluding use (a) in drug discovery or drug development, including target identification or target validation, by or on behalf of a commercial entity, (b) for contract research or commercial screening services, (c) for the production or manufacture of siRNA-related products for sale, or (d) for the generation of commercial databases for sale to Third Parties. Information about licenses for these and other commercial uses is available from Ribopharma AG, Fritz-Hornschuch-Str. 9, D-95326 Kulmbach, Germany.

This product is for in vitro research use only and is not intended for use in humans or animals. This product is not intended for use as therapeutic or in diagnostic procedures.

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