Nucleic Acids Research, 2001, Vol. 29, No. 5 e28
© 2001 Oxford University Press
Identification of partial loss of function p53 gene mutations utilizing a yeast-based functional assay
1Departments of Medicine and Biochemistry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and 2The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA and 3Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas—Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
Missense mutations within the central DNA binding region of p53 are the most prevalent mutations found in human cancer. Numerous studies indicate that ‘hot-spot’ p53 mutants (which comprise 
30% of human p53 gene mutations) are largely devoid of transcriptional activity. However, a growing body of evidence indicates that some non-hot-spot p53 mutants retain some degree of transcriptional activity in vivo, particularly against strong p53 binding sites. We have modified a previously described yeast-based p53 functional assay to readily identify such partial loss of function p53 mutants. We demonstrate the utility of this modified p53 functional assay using a diverse panel of p53 mutants.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed at: The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, 195 Little Albany Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA. Tel: +1 732 235 7469; Fax: +1 732 235 8098; Email: lutzkesg{at}umdnj.edu