title: Cell cycle-dependent regulation of human DNA polymerase alpha-primase activity by phosphorylation.
abstract: DNA polymerase alpha-primase is known to be phosphorylated in human and yeast cells in a cell cycle-dependent manner on the p180 and p68 subunits. Here we show that phosphorylation of purified human DNA polymerase alpha-primase by purified cyclin A/cdk2 in vitro reduced its ability to initiate simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA replication in vitro, while phosphorylation by cyclin E/cdk2 stimulated its initiation activity. Tryptic phosphopeptide mapping revealed a family of p68 peptides that was modified well by cyclin A/cdk2 and poorly by cyclin E/cdk2. The p180 phosphopeptides were identical with both kinases. By mass spectrometry, the p68 peptide family was identified as residues 141 to 160. Cyclin A/cdk2- and cyclin A/cdc2-modified p68 also displayed a phosphorylation-dependent shift to slower electrophoretic mobility. Mutation of the four putative phosphorylation sites within p68 peptide residues 141 to 160 prevented its phosphorylation by cyclin A/cdk2 and the inhibition of replication activity. Phosphopeptide maps of the p68 subunit of DNA polymerase alpha-primase from human cells, synchronized and labeled in G1/S and in G2, revealed a cyclin E/cdk2-like pattern in G1/S and a cyclin A/cdk2-like pattern in G2. The slower-electrophoretic-mobility form of p68 was absent in human cells in G1/S and appeared as the cells entered G2/M. Consistent with this, the ability of DNA polymerase alpha-primase isolated from synchronized human cells to initiate SV40 replication was maximal in G1/S, decreased as the cells completed S phase, and reached a minimum in G2/M. These results suggest that the replication activity of DNA polymerase alpha-primase in human cells is regulated by phosphorylation in a cell cycle-dependent manner.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, and Vanderbilt Cancer Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-6838, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Voitenleitner
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rehfuess
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hilmes
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: O'Rear
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Gage
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ott
authors.forename: H P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Nasheuer
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fanning
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D042846:CDC2-CDC28 Kinases; D002453:Cell Cycle; D002460:Cell Line; D019925:Cyclin A / Q000378:metabolism; D051357:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2; D018844:Cyclin-Dependent Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D004256:DNA Polymerase I / Q000378:metabolism*; D019915:DNA Primase / Q000378:metabolism*; D004261:DNA Replication; D006801:Humans; D010449:Peptide Mapping; D010748:Phosphopeptides / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014357:Trypsin
chemical_list: D019925:Cyclin A; D010748:Phosphopeptides; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D042846:CDC2-CDC28 Kinases; C495894:CDK2 protein, human; D051357:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2; D018844:Cyclin-Dependent Kinases; D019915:DNA Primase; C116932:DNA polymerase alpha-primase; D004256:DNA Polymerase I; D014357:Trypsin