Enzymatic synthesis of DNA from the simian virus 40 origin of DNA replication has been reconstituted in vitro with eight purified components. DNA polymerase alpha-primase complex first initiates DNA synthesis at the replication origin and continues as the lagging strand polymerase. Subsequently, the DNA polymerase delta complex initiates replication on the leading strand template. Some prokaryotic DNA polymerase complexes can replace the eukaryotic polymerase delta complex. A model for polymerase switching during initiation of DNA replication is presented.

Previous experiments in Xenopus egg extracts identified what appeared to be two independently assembled prereplication complexes (pre-RCs) for DNA replication: the stepwise assembly of ORC, Cdc6, and Mcm onto chromatin, and the FFA-1–mediated recruitment of RPA into foci on chromatin. We have investigated whether both of these pre-RCs can be detected in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Early- and late-replicating chromosomal domains were pulse-labeled with halogenated nucleotides and prelabeled cells were synchronized at various times during the following G1-phase. The recruitment of Mcm2 and RPA to these domains was examined in relation to the formation of a nuclear envelope, specification of the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) replication origin and entry into S-phase. Mcm2 was loaded gradually and cumulatively onto both early- and late-replicating chromatin from late telophase throughout G1-phase. During S-phase, detectable Mcm2 was rapidly excluded from PCNA-containing active replication forks. By contrast, detergent-resistant RPA foci were undetectable until the onset of S-phase, when RPA joined only the earliest-firing replicons. During S-phase, RPA was present with PCNA specifically at active replication forks. Together, our data are consistent with a role for Mcm proteins, but not RPA, in the formation of mammalian pre-RCs during early G1-phase.

E1, an ATP-dependent DNA helicase, is the only enzyme encoded by papillomaviruses (PVs). It is essential for replication and amplification of the viral episome in the nucleus of infected cells. To do so, E1 assembles into a double-hexamer at the viral origin, unwinds DNA at the origin and ahead of the replication fork and interacts with cellular DNA replication factors. Biochemical and structural studies have revealed the assembly pathway of E1 at the origin and how the enzyme unwinds DNA using a spiral escalator mechanism. E1 is tightly regulated in vivo, in particular by post-translational modifications that restrict its accumulation in the nucleus. Here we review how different functional domains of E1 orchestrate viral DNA replication, with an emphasis on their interactions with substrate DNA, host DNA replication factors and modifying enzymes. These studies have made E1 one of the best characterized helicases and provided unique insights on how PVs usurp different host-cell machineries to replicate and amplify their genome in a tightly controlled manner.

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Chronic periodontitis may be a significant factor in the natural history of HPV infection in patients with base of tongue cancers. Additional confirmation in larger studies is required.