DNA Damage Regulated Autophagy Modulator 1 (DRAM1)

TP53 plays a role in cellular adaptation to stress and is a critical mediator of cell death, such as apoptosis. DRAM is a p53 target gene involved in autophagy, a process involving bulk degradation of cytoplasmic components by the lysosomal/vacuolar system.Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis, followed by reporter and mutation analyses, revealed a p53-binding site in intron 1 of DRAM. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) and transfection experiments, followed by RT-PCR, Western blot, and flow cytometric analyses, showed that DRAM was necessary but not sufficient for cell death from p53. Treatment of cells with siRNA against DRAM following p53 activation reduced the number of autophagosomes and the rate of degradation of long-lived proteins, indicating that p53 induces autophagy in a DRAM-dependent manner.