Structural Basis of Competitive Recognition of p53 and MDM2 by HAUSP/USP7: Implications for the Regulation of the p53-MDM2 Pathway.
Hu, M., Gu, L., Li, M., Jeffrey, P.D., Gu, W., Shi, Y.(2006) PLoS Biol 4: e27-e27
- PubMed: 16402859 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0040027
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
2F1W, 2F1X, 2F1Y, 2F1Z - PubMed Abstract: 
Herpesvirus-associated ubiquitin-specific protease (HAUSP, also known as USP7), a deubiquitylating enzyme of the ubiquitin-specific processing protease family, specifically deubiquitylates both p53 and MDM2, hence playing an important yet enigmatic role in the p53-MDM2 pathway. Here we demonstrate that both p53 and MDM2 specifically recognize the N-terminal tumor necrosis factor-receptor associated factor (TRAF)-like domain of HAUSP in a mutually exclusive manner. HAUSP preferentially forms a stable HAUSP-MDM2 complex even in the presence of excess p53. The HAUSP-binding elements were mapped to a peptide fragment in the carboxy-terminus of p53 and to a short-peptide region preceding the acidic domain of MDM2. The crystal structures of the HAUSP TRAF-like domain in complex with p53 and MDM2 peptides, determined at 2.3-A and 1.7-A resolutions, respectively, reveal that the MDM2 peptide recognizes the same surface groove in HAUSP as that recognized by p53 but mediates more extensive interactions. Structural comparison led to the identification of a consensus peptide-recognition sequence by HAUSP. These results, together with the structure of a combined substrate-binding-and-deubiquitylation domain of HAUSP, provide important insights into regulation of the p53-MDM2 pathway by HAUSP.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.