Abstract: Objective To explore whether carboxyl-terminal domain (CTD) acetylation contributes to selectively regulating p53-mediated transcription of a subset of genes. Methods Based on p53-null lung cancer cell line H1299, a pair of inducible cell strains expressing the wildtype p53 (p53-WT) and the CTD acetylation-mimicking p53 (p53-6KQ) were constructal, respectively, and a response to doxycycline (Doxy) treatment was generated. RNA-sequencing was applied to analyze the changes of the transcriptional profiles regulated by p53-WT or p53-6KQ. Bio-informatic analysis was performed to annotate p53-6KQ-specific candidates, and their potential biological functions. Results The p53-inducible cell strains were successfully established. 306 differentially expressed genes that were specifically regulated by p53-6KQ were identified. These genes were functionally enriched in the biological processes involving in cell fate determination, transcription, neuron development and tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway. Conclusions The CTD acetylation may selectively and functionally regulate a subset of p53 target genes.

Key words: p53, acetylation, gene transcriptional regulation, tumor, bioinformatic analysis