Chemical synthesis of transactivation domain (TAD) of tumor suppressor protein p53 by native chemical ligation of three peptide segments

Chemical composition of tumor suppressor protein p53 is altered via multiple post-translational modifications which modulate its cellular lifetime and interactions with other biomolecules. Here we report total chemical synthesis of a 61-residue form of transactivation domain (TAD) of p53 based on native chemical ligation of three peptide segments. The experiments to characterize its binding to nuclear co-activator binding domain (NCBD) of CREB-binding protein confirmed native-like induced folding upon binding to NCBD. Thus, the synthetic approach described herein can be useful for the preparation of various post-translationally modified analogues of TAD-p53 for further functional biochemical and biophysical studies.