Cloning and sequencing of a DNA fragment encoding N37 apoptotic peptide derived from p53

Objective: It was reported that p53 apoptotic peptide (N37) could inhibit p73 gene through being bound with iASPP, which could induce tumor cell apoptosis. To further explore the function of N37, we constructed the cloning plasmid of DNA fragment encoding p53 (N37) apoptotic peptide by using DNA synthesis and molecular biology methods. Methods: According to human p53 sequence from the GenBank database, the primer of p53 (N37) gene was designed using Primer V7.0 software. The DNA fragment encoding p53 (N37) apoptotic peptide was amplified by using self-complementation polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and cloned into the pGEM-T Easy vector. The constructed plasmid was confirmed by endonuclease analysis and sequencing. Results: The insertion of objective DNA fragment was confirmed by plasmid DNA enzyme spectrum analysis. p53 (N37) gene was successfully synthesized chemically in vitro. The sequencing result of positive clone was completely identical to the human p53 (N37) sequence in GenBank using BLAST software (http://www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/cgi-bin/ BLASTn). Conclusion: The cloning of DNA fragment encoding p53 (N37) apoptotic peptide was constructed by using DNA synthesis and pGEM-T Easy cloning methods. With the constructed plasmid, we could further investigate the function of N37 peptide.