A combined immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometric approach to determine deltaNp63-interacting partners

Expression of p63 is essential for the formation of epidermis and other stratifying epithelia. Moreover p63 is highly expressed in several epithelial cancers and is involved in tumourigenesis and controlling chemo-sensitivity. The identification of p63 interacting partners is essential for understanding the complex network of gene regulation managing epithelial development and could also help to reveal signalling pathways participating in UV-damage response in human skin. We used a proteomic approach to identify proteins that interact with deltaNp63. Proteins were isolated by immunoprecipitation with deltaNp63 specific antibody and analysed by mass spectrometry. We identified 23 proteins as potential deltaNp63 binding partners that were not present in negative control samples. These results will be evaluated using other methods.