p53-dependent response in UV-induced transformation

Cells carrying different numbers of copies of wild-type p53 were transformed by UV irradiation. Putative dense foci were analyzed for their growth behavior in low serum and for anchorage-independence. A correlation was found between number of copies of wild-type p53 gene and transformation frequency: cells with more copies of p53 gene were more resistant to transformation by UV. The p53 in the transformed clones was shown to be wild-type at the protein level. A single DNA base change was detected between GenBank data and our normal and transformed cells; this pre-existing single base difference is probably due to the differences between the strains of mice from which the cells were derived.