p53-Luc/EF1α-mCherry Reporter Cell Line - TE-1

p53 is a tetrameric tumor suppressor transcription factor that binds p53 response elements in the promoters of target genes and coordinates the cellular response to stress. Once stabilized by DNA damage, oncogenic signaling, or hypoxia, it drives p21 to impose G1/S arrest, induces BAX, PUMA and NOXA to trigger apoptosis, and turns on MDM2 as part of a negative feedback loop. The pathway is compromised in most esophageal squamous cell carcinomas, where TP53 mutation is one of the earliest and most frequent events. The p53-Luc/EF1α-mCherry Reporter Cell Line - TE-1 places repeated p53 response elements upstream of a firefly luciferase gene in the TE-1 human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma background, so p53-dependent transcription is read out directly as luminescence. An mCherry marker and a puromycin resistance cassette are expressed constitutively from the EF1α promoter, providing a red fluorescent signal that reports cell number independently of pathway activity and can be used to normalize the luciferase values.

The line is used to quantify p53 transcriptional activity in esophageal cancer cells and to screen compounds acting on the pathway. It is also applied to p53 reactivating compounds, since mutant p53 is common in this tumor type, and agents such as APR-246 and COTI-2 are designed to restore wild-type conformation and transcriptional function to certain mutants. The reporter supports work on radiosensitivity, where p53 status shapes checkpoint control through p21, and on chemoresistance involving exosomal miRNA and transcription factors that feed into the p21 axis. Because the mCherry channel is independent of p53, the line adapts well to 96- or 384-well screening and removes the need for repeated transient transfection across drug doses and passages.