Proliferating cell nuclear antigen originally identified as an antigen that is expressed in the nuclei of cells during the DNA synthesis phase of the cell cycle. Part of the protein was sequenced and that sequence was used to allow isolation of a cDNA clone. PCNA helps hold DNA polymerase epsilon (Pol ε) to DNA. PCNA is clamped to DNA through the action of replication factor C (RFC), which is a heteropentameric member of the AAA+ class of ATPases. Expression of PCNA is under the control of E2F transcription factor-containing complexes. Since DNA polymerase epsilon is involved in resynthesis of excised damaged DNA strands during
DNA methylation in cancer DNA methylation in cancer DNA methylation in cancer plays a variety of roles, helping to change the healthy regulation of gene expression to a disease pattern. All mammalian cells descended from a fertilized egg (a zygote) share a common DNA sequence (except for new mutations in some lineages). However, during development and formation of different tissues epigenetic factors change. The changes include histone modifications, CpG island methylations and chromatin reorganizations which can cause the stable silencing or activation of particular genes. Once differentiated tissues are formed, CpG island methylation is generally stably inherited from one cell division to the next