Decrease in the average size of replicons in a Werner syndrome cell line by Simian virus 40 infection.

We have measured the distance between replicon initiation sites as well as the rate of DNA chain elongation in Simian Virus 40 (SV40)-infected and uninfected Werner syndrome (WS) and normal cell lines by DNA fiber-autoradiography. There was no difference in the rate of chain elongation among these cell lines. On the other hand, the replicon center-to-center distance was clearly longer in WS fibroblasts than that in normal fibroblasts. SV40 infection changed the center-to-center distance in WS cells toward that in normal cells.