Evidence that immunological variants of p53 represent alternative protein conformations

In normal murine lymphocytes the cellular oncoprotein, p53, exists as two immunologically distinct species which are reciprocally expressed in quiescent (p53-Go) and mitogenically stimulated (p53-G divided by) cells. More recently, we have identified discrete forms of p53, immunologically similar to p53-Go and p53-G divided by, in 3T3 cells transformed by simian virus 40 (SV40). In this report, we demonstrate that immunologically distinct p53 species can also be expressed in vitro, from a single murine p53 cDNA clone. The p53 variants expressed in vitro and in SV40-transformed 3T3 cells have been studied by immunoprecipitation and Western blotting. Immunoprecipitation data indicated that, in their native conformations, the p53 variants react with either the PAb421 or RA3.2C2 monoclonal antibodies, but not with both. When analyzed by Western blotting, however, the denatured proteins were found to react with both monoclonal antibodies. This suggests that the p53 protein is flexible and can fold in alternative conformations so as to expose or mask different epitopes. We propose, therefore, that immunologically distinct p53 species are generated, at least partly, by conformational changes in a single polypeptide species.