When DNA replication is inhibited during the synthesis (S) phase of the cell cycle, a signaling pathway (checkpoint) is activated that serves to prevent mitosis from initiating before completion of replication. This replication checkpoint acts by down-regulating the activity of the mitotic inducer cdc2-cyclin B. Here, we report the relation between chromatin structure and induction of the replication checkpoint. Chromatin was competent to initiate a checkpoint response only after the DNA was unwound and DNA polymerase alpha had been loaded. Checkpoint induction did not require new DNA synthesis on the unwound template strand but did require RNA primer synthesis by primase. These findings identify the RNA portion of the primer as an important component of the signal that activates the replication checkpoint.

Sterol 14alpha-demethylases (CYP51) serve as primary targets for antifungal drugs, and specific inhibition of CYP51s in protozoan parasites Trypanosoma brucei (TB) and Trypanosoma cruzi (TC) might provide an effective treatment strategy for human trypanosomiases. Primary inhibitor selection is based initially on the cytochrome P450 spectral response to ligand binding. Ligands that demonstrate strongest binding parameters were examined as inhibitors of reconstituted TB and TC CYP51 activity in vitro. Direct correlation between potency of the compounds as CYP51 inhibitors and their antiparasitic effect in TB and TC cells implies essential requirements for endogenous sterol production in both trypanosomes and suggests a lead structure with a defined region most promising for further modifications. The approach developed here can be used for further large-scale search for new CYP51 inhibitors.

Durch Umsetzung stöchiometrischer Gemische der Elemente bei höheren Temperaturen wurden die in Tab. 1 angeführten Verbindungen dargestellt und näher untersucht. Auf Grund röntgenographischer Strukturuntersuchungen, insbesondere am Fe2P2S6 und Fe2P2Se6 gehören sie zu den Hexachalkogenohypodiphosphaten.

No abstract

Simian virus 40 (SV40) provides a model system for the study of eukaryotic DNA replication, in which the viral protein, large T antigen (Tag), marshals human proteins to replicate the viral minichromosome. SV40 replication requires interaction of Tag with the host single-stranded DNA-binding protein, replication protein A (hRPA). The C-terminal domain of the hRPA32 subunit (RPA32C) facilitates initiation of replication, but whether it interacts with Tag is not known. Affinity chromatography and NMR revealed physical interaction between hRPA32C and the Tag origin DNA-binding domain, and a structural model of the complex was determined. Point mutations were then designed to reverse charges in the binding sites, resulting in substantially reduced binding affinity. Corresponding mutations introduced into intact hRPA impaired initiation of replication and primosome activity, implying that this interaction has a critical role in assembly and progression of the SV40 replisome.