We found that a mouse p53 cDNA clone (pP53-5; Jenkins et al, Nature 312: 651-654, 1984), which previously was characterized as encoding mutant p53 protein, in fact represents wild-type mouse p53 cDNA, as we were able to demonstrate that the mutations described represented sequencing artefacts (compressions). Such sequencing artefacts were also observed with a p53 cDNA isolated from mouse T3T3 cells, encoding a mutant p53 with an Arg-Cys exchange at position 270, and could be resolved by sequencing of the opposite DNA strands. As pP53-5 had been successfully used in cellular immortalization and transformation assays (Jenkins et al, Nature 312: 651-654, 1984; Nature 317: 816-818, 1985), our results suggest that wild-type p53 under certain circumstances can induce transformation. This finding is relevant to the recent findings of overexpressed wild-type p53 in human tumors.

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