Hypoxia and DNA damage stabilize the p53 protein, but the subsequent effect that each stress has on transcriptional regulation of known p53 target genes is variable. We have used chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by CpG island (CGI) microarray hybridization to identify promoters bound by p53 under both DNA-damaging and non-DNA-damaging conditions in HCT116 cells. Using gene-specific PCR analysis, we have verified an association with CGIs of the highest enrichment (>2.5-fold) (REV3L, XPMC2H, HNRPUL1, TOR1AIP1, glutathione peroxidase 1, and SCFD2), with CGIs of intermediate enrichment (>2.2-fold) (COX7A2L, SYVN1, and JAG2), and with CGIs of low enrichment (>2.0-fold) (MYC and PCNA). We found little difference in promoter binding when p53 is stabilized by these two distinctly different stresses. However, expression of these genes varies a great deal: while a few genes exhibit classical induction with adriamycin, the majority of the genes are unchanged or are mildly repressed by either hypoxia or adriamycin. Further analysis using p53 mutated in the core DNA binding domain revealed that the interaction of p53 with CGIs may be occurring through both sequence-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Taken together, these experiments describe the identification of novel p53 target genes and the subsequent discovery of distinctly different expression phenomena for p53 target genes under different stress scenarios.The tumor microenvironment is a major factor influencing tumor growth, metastatic potential, and response to chemotherapeutic drugs and radiation therapy (7). The hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) family of transcription factors regulates the expression of key enzymes in anaerobic glycolysis and proangiogenic factors (i.e., vascular endothelial growth factor), aiding cells in adapting to a low-oxygen environment (15). Thus, a tumor adapts to hypoxia first by sustaining itself via anaerobic metabolism and then by stimulating angiogenesis to acquire more nutrients and oxygen. However, the resulting vasculature tends to have aberrant structures with irregular blood flow and leaky walls, paradoxically creating regions of transient hypoxia and reoxygenation (76). Reoxygenation after hypoxia causes DNA damage, exacerbating genomic instability (25). The porous structure of the tumor vasculature may also provide an escape route for metastasizing cells. Repeated cycles of hypoxia, vascular formation, and reoxygenation select for cells that are more likely to survive in a restrictive environment. The consequences of this process are cancer cells that are more aggressive, more likely to metastasize, and more likely to be resistant to radiation and chemotherapy. Intimately tied to this process is the selection for cells that have lost the expression of functional p53 (19).A variety of cellular stresses, including DNA damage, oncogenic transformation, and hypoxia, stabilize the p53 protein by activating a host of stress-inducible kinases that phosphorylate p53 and MDM2, resulting in increased levels of p53 (17). Stabilized ...