Reduced stability and increased dynamics in the human proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) relative to the yeast homolog.

ABSTRACT: Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA) is an essential factor for DNA replication and repair. PCNA forms a toroidal, ring shaped structure of 90 kDa by the symmetric association of three identical monomers. The ring encircles the DNA and acts as a platform where polymerases and other proteins dock to carry out different DNA metabolic processes. The amino acid sequence of human PCNA is 35% identical to the yeast homolog, and the two proteins have the same 3D crystal structure. In this report, we give evidence that the budding yeast (sc) and human (h) PCNAs have highly similar structures in solution but differ substantially in their stability and dynamics. hPCNA is less resistant to chemical and thermal denaturation and displays lower cooperativity of unfolding as compared to scPCNA. Solv

SUBMITTER: De Biasio A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3041752 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature