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Updated: Mar 24, 2026

Purification of Ubiquitinated p53 Proteins from Mammalian Cells
Published on: March 21, 2022
A novel cytoprotective function for the DNA repair protein Ku in regulating p53 mRNA translation and function
Assala Lamaa1, Morgane Le Bras1, Nicolas Skuli1
1Cancer Research Center of Toulouse (CRCT), Inserm UMR 1037 Université Toulouse III-Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
Abstract:
Ku heterodimer is a DNA binding protein with a prominent role in DNA repair. Here, we investigate whether and how Ku impacts the DNA damage response by acting as a post-transcriptional regulator of gene expression. We show that Ku represses p53 protein synthesis and p53-mediated apoptosis by binding to a bulged stem-loop structure within the p53 5' UTR However, Ku-mediated translational repression of the p53 mRNA is relieved after genotoxic stress. The underlying mechanism involves Ku acetylation which disrupts Ku-p53 mRNA interactions. These results suggest that Ku-mediated repression of p53 mRNA translation constitutes a novel mechanism linking DNA repair and mRNA translation.
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