PATZ1 is a DNA damage responsive transcription factor that inhibits p53 function. Mus musculus

Insults to cellular health cause p53 protein accumulation and loss of p53 function leads to tumorigenesis. Thus, p53 has to be tightly controlled. Here we report that the BTB/POZ domain transcription factor PATZ1 (MAZR), previously known for its transcriptional suppressor functions in T lymphocytes, is a crucial regulator of p53. The novel inhibitory role of PATZ1 on the p53 protein marks it as a proto-oncogene. PATZ1 deficient cells have reduced proliferative capacity which we assess by RNASeq and real time cell growth rate analysis. PATZ1 modifies the expression of p53 target genes associated with cell proliferation gene ontology terms. Moreover, PATZ1 regulates several genes involved in cellular adhesion and morphogenesis. Significantly, treatment with the DNA damage inducing drug doxorubicin results in the loss of the PATZ1 transcription factor, as p53 accumulates. We find that PATZ1 binds to p53 and inhibits p53 dependent transcription activation. We examine the mechanism of this functional inhibitory interaction and demonstrate that PATZ1 excludes p53 from DNA binding. This study documents PATZ1 as a novel player in the p53 pathway. Overall design: RNA-seq was used to define differentially expressed genes in wild-type and PATZ1-/- MEFs. Each sample was represented in triplicate.