Identification of two p53-binding proteins using a recombinant vaccinia virus containing the wild-type human p53 gene

A recombinant vaccinia virus was constructed using the wild-type human p53 gene as an insert. The p 53 protein produced by this recombinant virus was used to investigate p53 binding proteins in seventeen cell lines, including 10 derived from human hepatocellular carcinoma, four from other human cancers, and three from non-human primate tissues. In all 17 cell lines tested, two proteins of 40 kD and 50 kD were identified that bound to wild-type p53 and that may be cellular regulators of p53 function.