Ser392 phosphorylation modulated a switch between p53 and transcriptional condensates

Human p53 is a transcription factor regulating the transcription of a variety of target genes. Under various stresses, its tumor suppressor function was activated by the phosphorylation of p53. In this study, we found that full-length wild-type p53 could form phase-separated condensates with the aggregation tendency in vitro and in vivo. The LLPS of p53 was regulated by multiple functional domains. Specific DNA could promote the formation of p53 condensates. Fluorescence recovery data after photobleaching revealed that the Ser392 phosphorylation enhanced the fluidity of p53 condensates. Fluorescence analysis suggested that Ser392 phosphorylation increased the p53 concentration in condensates involved in transcription initiation and the stability of p53-mediated transcriptional condensates. The experiments in cells showed that p53 was evenly dispersed in the nucleus, it formed the dynamic condensates under the UV radiation-induced DNA damage, and the Ser392 nonphosphorylatable mutant S392A p53 formed condensates with significantly reduced number and size. These findings revealed that p53 phosphorylation modified its LLPS behavior, and suggested a mechanism that phosphorylation regulated condensate preference.