2. Academic Validation
  3. Cell differentiation modifies the p53 transcriptional program through a combination of gene silencing and constitutive transactivation

Cell differentiation modifies the p53 transcriptional program through a combination of gene silencing and constitutive transactivation

  • Cell Death Differ. 2023 Jan 21. doi: 10.1038/s41418-023-01113-4.
Roubina Tatavosian 1 2,  Micah G Donovan 1,  Matthew D Galbraith 1 2,  Huy N Duc 3,  Maria M Szwarc 1,  Molishree U Joshi 3,  Amy Frieman 4,  Ganna Bilousova 4,  Yingqiong Cao 5,  Keith P Smith 2,  Kunhua Song 5,  Angela L Rachubinski 2 6,  Zdenek Andrysik 7,  Joaquin M Espinosa 8 9 10
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
  • 2 Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
  • 3 Functional Genomics Facility, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
  • 4 Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
  • 5 Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
  • 6 Section of Developmental Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
  • 7 Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. [email protected].
  • 8 Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. [email protected].
  • 9 Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. [email protected].
  • 10 Functional Genomics Facility, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. [email protected].
PMID: 36681780 DOI: 10.1038/s41418-023-01113-4
Abstract

The p53 transcription factor is a master regulator of cellular responses to stress that is commonly inactivated in diverse Cancer types. Despite decades of research, the mechanisms by which p53 impedes tumorigenesis across vastly different cellular contexts requires further investigation. The bulk of research has been completed using in vitro studies of Cancer cell lines or in vivo studies in mouse models, but much less is known about p53 action in diverse non-transformed human tissues. Here, we investigated how different cellular states modify the p53 transcriptional program in human cells through a combination of computational analyses of publicly available large-scale datasets and in vitro studies using an isogenic system consisting of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and two derived lineages. Analysis of publicly available mRNA expression and genetic dependency data demonstrated wide variation in terms of expression and function of a core p53 transcriptional program across various tissues and lineages. To monitor the impact of cell differentiation on the p53 transcriptome within an isogenic Cell Culture system, we activated p53 by pharmacological inhibition of its negative regulator MDM2. Using cell phenotyping assays and genome wide transcriptome analyses, we demonstrated that cell differentiation confines and modifies the p53 transcriptional network in a lineage-specific fashion. Although hundreds of p53 target genes are transactivated in iPSCs, only a small fraction is transactivated in each of the differentiated lineages. Mechanistic studies using small molecule inhibitors and genetic knockdowns revealed the presence of two major regulatory mechanisms contributing to this massive heterogeneity across cellular states: gene silencing by epigenetic regulatory complexes and constitutive transactivation by lineage-specific transcription factors. Altogether, these results illuminate the impact of cell differentiation on the p53 program, thus advancing our understanding of how this tumor suppressor functions in different contexts.

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