Kelman Z
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
Oncogene. 1997 Feb 13;14(6):629-40. doi: 10.1038/sj.onc.1200886.
Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) plays an essential role in nucleic acid metabolism as a component of the replication and repair machinery. This toroidal-shaped protein encircles DNA and can slide bidirectionally along the duplex. One of the well-established functions for PCNA is its role as the processivity factor for DNA polymerase delta and epsilon. PCNA tethers the polymerase catalytic unit to the DNA template for rapid and processive DNA synthesis. In the last several years it has become apparent that PCNA interacts with proteins involved in cell-cycle progression which are not a part of the DNA polymerase apparatus. Some of these interactions have a direct effect on DNA synthesis while the roles of several other interactions are not fully understood. This review summarizes the structural features of PCNA and describes the diverse functions played by the protein in DNA replication and repair as well as its possible role in chromatin assembly and gene transcription. The PCNA interactions with different cellular proteins and the importance of these interactions are also discussed.
增殖细胞核抗原（PCNA）作为复制和修复机制的一个组成部分，在核酸代谢中起着至关重要的作用。这种环形蛋白环绕着DNA，并能沿双链双向滑动。PCNA一个公认的功能是作为DNA聚合酶δ和ε的持续性因子。PCNA将聚合酶催化单元与DNA模板相连，以实现快速且持续的DNA合成。在过去几年中，很明显PCNA与参与细胞周期进程的蛋白质相互作用，而这些蛋白质并非DNA聚合酶装置的一部分。其中一些相互作用对DNA合成有直接影响，而其他几种相互作用的作用尚未完全了解。本综述总结了PCNA的结构特征，描述了该蛋白在DNA复制和修复中发挥的多种功能及其在染色质组装和基因转录中的可能作用。还讨论了PCNA与不同细胞蛋白的相互作用以及这些相互作用的重要性。
