Replication of non-repetitive DNA during early, middle and late S phase. The general class and the subset transcribed

A model of chromatin-dependent DNA replication sequences based on the decondensation units hypothesis

A model of chromatin-dependent DNA replication sequences was developed on the previously reported "decondensation units" hypothesis and its kinetic properties were examined by way of calculating various numerical indices using a Monte Carlo procedure. The model has much in common with the previous one but a fundamental difference is that the unit is assumed to consist of linearly arranged H-, D-, A- and S-zones each containing genes of different functional categories which are called H-, D-, A- and S-genes, respectively. The units are decondensed by the action of D-factors, i.e. decondensation factors, from H-zone to the end of S-zone and the genes in decondensed regions release signals to produce housekeeping enzymes, D-factors, A-factors and S-factors. These products are stored and at the same time degraded. A-factors activate replication origins in the decondensed regions and S-factors induce DNA synthesis at the activated origins. Replicated DNA is recondensed and gene activities are shut down in the recondensed chromatin. The factors are produced under the control of chromosome cycle and in turn affect chromosomes. Thus, dual control mechanism operates as Mazia and Prescott have argued. Biochemical and cytogenetic basis of this model was reviewed briefly and some results of simulation presented which include DNA synthesis rate vs. DNA content relationships. An outstanding characteristic of the model is the constancy of cellular state in A-subphase located in the late G1.

A model for the spatio-temporal organization of DNA replication in mammalian cells

The spatio-temporal organization of chromosomal DNA replication was analyzed using a model based on a "DNA unit" (or decondensation unit) hypothesis. The model is an extension of the fork movement theory of Huberman & Riggs (1968) and can account for a partially deterministic and partially stochastic order of DNA replication in chromosomes. It presumes that each chromosome is composed of DNA units that are arranged in sequence and that are replicated in parallel. A deterministic wave of chromatin decondensation propagates along the DNA unit continuously and progressively providing a field for the random activation of replication origin. Assignment of replication times to DNA compartments by a Monte Carlo method was programmed based on the model and the program was used to stimulate DNA synthesis rate curves that can be measured by the method of Dolbeare et al. (1983, 1985). The shape of the curve is shown to constrain possible parameter values of the model, which include the rate of fork movement, the fraction of chromatin that is decondensed at the start of S-phase, the initial number of origins activated, the rate at which new origins are activated, etc. The chromosomal organization that controls the molecular level of DNA replication is briefly reviewed and its relevance to the model is also discussed.

Hydroxyurea indices precommitment during retinoic induced HL-60 terminal myeloid differentiation: possible involvement of gene amplification

Control of terminal cell differentiation was studied in the HL-60 human promyeloctyic leukemia cell line. Retinoic acid is known to induce myeloid differentiation associated with GO arrest in these cells. In this case, onset of terminal differentiation occurs after an exposure period corresponding to two division cycles. This is preceded by acquisition of a precommitment memory state occurring by one division cycle. Cells in precommitment undergo accelerated onset of terminal differentiation upon reexposure to inducer. The present report shows that the precommitment state can be induced by a pulse exposure to hydroxyurea. While the hydroxyurea exposure does not itself induce terminal differentiation, the treated cells undergo accelerated onset of phenotypic differentiation and GO arrest upon exposure to retinoic acid. Thus a perturbation of S-phase specific cellular metabolism induces the early precommitment regulatory state in the course of induced HL-60 terminal myeloid differentiation. The results support a model in which initiation of a cellular program of terminal differentiation depends on an S-phase specific event associated with replication of cellular DNA and possibly involving gene amplification. Significantly, the results indicate that a conventional chemotherapeutic agent such as hydroxyurea can synergistically interact with a differentiation inducing agent such as retinoic acid. This indicates the significance of investigating the interaction between conventional S-phase specific chemotherapeutic agents and differentiation inducing agents as a potential treatment modality.