Evidence for separate ND10-binding and homo-oligomerization domains of Sp100

Nuclear domains called ND10 or PML nuclear bodies consist of an aggregation of several proteins, most notably PML and Sp100. PML is essential in the nucleation and formation of ND10 as well as in the recruitment of other ND10-associated proteins such as Daxx, pRb, BLM and Sp100. In cells induced to overexpress Sp100, ND10 binding of Sp100 was saturable and excess Sp100 formed new aggregation sites devoid of other ND10-associated proteins, suggesting that homo-oligomerization is the basis for aggregation. To determine whether Sp100 binds to ND10 through hetero- or oligomerization, Sp100 deletion variants fused with GFP were transfected into cells with and without endogenous Sp100, and the localization of the GFP-labeled fragments was determined relative to ND10. Amino acids 29-152 were sufficient for deposition of the GFP-labeled fragments at ND10 in the absence of endogenous Sp100 (heterologous binding) and for self-aggregation (formation of new Sp100 deposits). None of the shorter fragments was deposited at ND10 or self-aggregated. The 29-152 amino acid fragment and some larger fragments, but not the full-size Sp100, induced elongation of ND10, which at their ends contain only Sp100, probably due to self-aggregation. By fusing a peptide consisting of the p53-binding domain from hMDM2 to the Sp100(29-152) fragment, this self-aggregation could be blocked while retaining the limited ND10 binding capacity, indicating that the Sp100 self-aggregation domain and the ND10 binding domain are separate entities. This fusion peptide was used to demonstrate the potential of ND10 to recruit p53 as a protein not usually present at this site. Such deposited p53 was protected from turnover. The capacity of ND10 to recruit Sp100 may serve primarily to reduce its availability.