title: Regulation of DNA replication during the cell cycle: roles of Cdc7 kinase and coupling of replication, recombination, and repair in response to replication fork arrest.
abstract: DNA replication is central to cell growth, development, and generation of tissues and organs. Recent advances in understanding replication machinery have revealed striking conservation of components involved in the processes of DNA replication, from yeasts to human. The conservation extends even to bacteria for some basic components of replication apparatus. Eukaryotic DNA replication is regulated at various stages to ensure strict regulation during cell cycle. We have identified a novel mammalian kinase, Cdc7-ASK (Activator of S phase Kinase), that plays a key role at the entry into S phase as a molecular switch for DNA replication. This kinase is specifically activated during S phase and triggers the firing of DNA replication by phosphorylating an essential DNA helicase component of the replication complex. Environmental stresses such as DNA damages or depletion of essential nutrients for DNA synthesis lead to unscheduled arrest of DNA replication forks. In bacteria, this leads to induction of altered modes of DNA replication, which may repair DNA damages, facilitate reassembly of replication machinery at the stalled replication fork, or do both. In eukaryotes, blocking replication forks usually induces both checkpoint responses, which prevent premature progression of cell cycle events before precise completion of the preceding cell cycle stage, and the recombinational repair system for the lesions. Possible common bases in recognition of stalled replication forks in bacteria and eukaryotes will be discussed. Furthermore, we will discuss the potential of replication and checkpoint proteins as targets of anticancer agents as well as possible novel technology for stem cell amplification through manipulation of DNA replication.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Developmental Biology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Japan. hisao@ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Masai
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Arai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000235:genetics; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004260:DNA Repair; D004261:DNA Replication; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000502:physiology*; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D051716:Replication Protein A; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C497167:RPA1 protein, human; D051716:Replication Protein A; C068619:CDC7 protein, human; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases