Human cells need to cope with the stalling of DNA replication to complete replication of the entire genome to minimize genome instability. They respond to “replication stress” by activating the conserved ATR-Claspin-Chk1 replication checkpoint pathway. The stalled replication fork is detected and stabilized by the checkpoint proteins to prevent disintegration of the replication fork, to remove the lesion or problems that are causing fork block, and to facilitate the continuation of fork progression. Claspin, a factor conserved from yeasts to human, plays a crucial role as a mediator that transmits the replication fork arrest signal from the sensor kinase, ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR), to the effector kinase, Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1). Claspin interacts with multiple kinases and replication factors and facilitates efficient replication fork progression and initiation during the normal course of DNA replication as well. It interacts with Cdc7 kinase through the acidic patch segment near the C-terminus and this interaction is critical for efficient phosphorylation of Mcm in non-cancer cells and also for checkpoint activation. Phosphorylation of Claspin by Cdc7, recruited to the acidic patch, regulates the conformation of Claspin through affecting the intramolecular interaction between the N- and C-terminal segments of Claspin. Abundance of Claspin is regulated at both mRNA and protein levels (post-transcriptional regulation and protein stability) and affects the extent of replication checkpoint. In this article, we will discuss how the ATR-Claspin-Chk1 regulates normal and stressed DNA replication and provide insight into the therapeutic potential of targeting replication checkpoint for efficient cancer cell death.

Here, we report the whole-genome sequences of Klebsiella pneumoniae ED2 and ED23, isolated, respectively, from bacteremic patients with liver abscesses (ED2) and patients with primary liver abscess and metastatic meningitis (ED23). Both strains were of multilocus sequence type 23 with capsule serotype K1.

Replication stress has been suggested to be an ultimate trigger of carcinogenesis. Oncogenic signal, such as overexpression of CyclinE, has been shown to induce replication stress. Here, we show that various biological stresses, including heat, oxidative stress, osmotic stress, LPS, hypoxia, and arsenate induce activation of Chk1, a key effector kinase for replication checkpoint. Some of these stresses indeed reduce the fork rate, inhibiting DNA replication. Analyses of Chk1 activation in the cell population with Western analyses showed that Chk1 activation by these stresses is largely dependent on Claspin. On the other hand, single cell analyses with Fucci cells indicated that while Chk1 activation during S phase is dependent on Claspin, that in G1 is mostly independent of Claspin. We propose that various biological stresses activate Chk1 either directly by stalling DNA replication fork or by some other mechanism that does not involve replication inhibition. The former pathway predominantly occurs in S phase and depends on Claspin, while the latter pathway, which may occur throughout the cell cycle, is largely independent of Claspin. Our findings provide evidence for novel links between replication stress checkpoint and other biological stresses and point to the presence of replication-independent mechanisms of Chk1 activation in mammalian cells.