In vitro, the S100B protein interacts with baculovirus recombinant p53 protein and protects p53 from thermal denaturation. This effect is isoform-specific and is not observed with S100A1, S100A6, or calmodulin. Using truncated p53 proteins in the N-terminal (p53 1-320 ) and C-terminal (p53 ) domains, we localized the S100B-binding region to the C-terminal region of p53. We have confirmed a calcium-dependent interaction of the S100B with a synthetic peptide corresponding to the C-terminal region of p53 (residues 319 -393 in human p53) using plasmon resonance experiments on a BIAcore system. In the presence of calcium, the equilibrium affinity of the S100B for the C-terminal region of p53 immobilized on the sensor chip was 24 ؎ 10 nM. To narrow down the region within p53 involved in S100B binding, two synthetic peptides, O1357-381 (residues 357-381 in mouse p53) and YF-O2 320 -346 (residues 320 -346 in mouse p53), covering the C-terminal region of p53 were compared for their interaction with purified S100B. Only YF-O2 peptide interacts with S100B with high affinity. The YF-O2 motif is a critical determinant for the thermostability of p53 and also corresponds to a domain responsible for cytoplasmic sequestration of p53. Our results may explain the rescue of nuclear wild type p53 activities by S100B in fibroblast cell lines expressing the temperature-sensitive p53val135 mutant at the nonpermissive temperature.The S100 family is one of the largest subfamily of calciumbinding proteins that are thought to play roles in mediating calcium signals during cell growth, differentiation, and motility (reviewed in Ref. 1). These proteins are characterized by highly conserved helix-loop-helix calcium-binding domains, known as EF-hand motifs. The S100B is found in astroglial cells in the central nervous system but also in a number of tissues outside the nervous system, including adipose tissue, testis, skin, and lymphocytes (2). In cultured cells, synthesis of S100B is tightly regulated and is maximum in the G 1 phase of the cell cycle (3-5). The S100B protein is a noncovalent homodimer formed by the association of two S100- subunits (6, 7). Calcium binding induces conformational changes in the protein structure (8 -10), destabilizing the S100B quaternary structure and allowing interaction with target proteins (7-12). For example, the Ca 2ϩ -dependent binding of S100B to microtubules (13), GFAP (14), Ndr protein kinase (15), and p53 (16) has been demonstrated. The identification of S100B target proteins is essential to better understand the mechanisms underlying S100B functions. Like calmodulin, S100B is likely to regulate multiple target proteins.The tumor suppressor p53 protein (17) is a putative intracellular target for the S100B protein. In vitro, S100B binds to p53 and inhibits p53 aggregation and phosphorylation by PKC (16).1 S100B also binds to a peptide derived from the extreme C-terminal end of p53 (12,18). A functional interaction between S100B and p53 was recently demonstrated in p53-negative mouse embryo fibroblast...