Molecular Mechanisms of DNA Polymerase Clamp Loaders

摘要

Clamp loaders are ATP-driven multiprotein machines that couple ATP hydrolysis to the opening and closing of a circular protein ring around DNA. This ring-shaped clamp slides along DNA, and interacts with numerous proteins involved in DNA replication, DNA repair and cell cycle control. Recently determined structures of clamp loader complexes from prokaryotic and eukaryotic DNA polymerases have revealed exciting new details of how these complex AAA+ machines perform this essential clamp loading function. This review serves as background to John Kuriyan's lecture at the 2010 Erice School, and is not meant as a comprehensive review of the contributions of the many scientists who have advanced this field. These lecture notes are derived from recent reviews and research papers from our groups.