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
Host-Cell Reactivation damage is used as mutagen, the cell uses nucleotide excision repair NER pathway, that is activated by distortion in the DNA helix. The Host-Cell Reactivation Assay or HCR is a technique used to measure the DNA repair capacity of cell of a particular DNA alteration. In the HCR assay the ability of an intact cell to repair exogenous DNA is measured The host cell is transfected with a damaged plasmid containing a reporter gene, usually luciferase, which has been deactivated due to the damage. The ability of the cell to repair the damage in the plasmid, after it has been