PCNA
PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen) is a nuclear DNA sliding clamp that tethers DNA polymerases and other proteins to DNA and increases their processivity. It coordinates DNA replication with DNA repair and DNA damage tolerance pathways at the replication fork. Browse Assay Genie's current range of PCNA research reagents below, or read on for the biology behind the target.
PCNA confers DNA tethering and processivity to DNA polymerases and other proteins. It is an auxiliary protein of DNA polymerase delta and epsilon, and it controls DNA replication by increasing the processivity of these polymerases during elongation of the leading strand. NCBI Gene describes it as a cofactor of DNA polymerase delta that acts as a homotrimer. PCNA also strongly stimulates the 3'-5' exonuclease and 3'-phosphodiesterase activities of APEX2, but not its AP endonuclease activity, and it must be loaded onto DNA before it can do so.
PCNA has a central role in the DNA damage response. Positioned at the replication fork, it acts as a loading platform that recruits damage response proteins, allowing DNA replication to be completed after damage and promoting postreplication repair. The type of ubiquitin modification determines the outcome. Monoubiquitinated PCNA recruits translesion (TLS) polymerases, whereas 'Lys-63'-linked polyubiquitination is involved in the error-free pathway, which uses recombination mechanisms to synthesise across the lesion. In response to DNA damage, the protein is ubiquitinated and takes part in the RAD6-dependent DNA repair pathway.
The human PCNA gene encodes a nuclear protein of the PCNA family. Two transcript variants encoding the same protein have been described, and pseudogenes are found on chromosome 4 and on the X chromosome. Mouse and rat each carry an ortholog named Pcna, which allows the replication and repair roles of the PCNA protein to be studied in common model organisms.
PCNA increases the processivity of DNA polymerase delta and epsilon during leading strand synthesis, making it a core protein for studying replication elongation.
PCNA sits at the replication fork and recruits damage response proteins, coordinating replication with repair and damage tolerance pathways.
Monoubiquitinated PCNA recruits translesion polymerases, so it is central to work on how cells replicate past DNA lesions.
Lys-63-linked polyubiquitination of PCNA supports error-free repair through recombination, and the RAD6-dependent pathway is a focus for repair research.
PCNA is a DNA sliding clamp that tethers DNA polymerases and other proteins to DNA. It raises the processivity of DNA polymerase delta and epsilon during leading strand elongation, and it recruits proteins that coordinate replication with DNA repair and damage tolerance.
After DNA damage, PCNA is ubiquitinated in the RAD6-dependent repair pathway. Monoubiquitinated PCNA recruits translesion polymerases, while 'Lys-63'-linked polyubiquitination is involved in the error-free pathway, which synthesises across the lesion using recombination mechanisms.
Yes. Mouse and rat each have an ortholog called Pcna, so the PCNA gene and protein can be studied in these rodent models. Check the datasheet of any product for its validated reactivity.
Other DNA replication, DNA repair and proliferation-related targets with products at Assay Genie.
Gene and protein annotations from HGNC, NCBI Gene and UniProt P12004; product specifications from Assay Genie datasheets.