Cohesion Establishment Factors Stimulate Endonuclease Activity of hFen1 Independently and Cooperatively

Abstract

Human Fen1 protein (hFen1) plays an important role in Okazaki fragment processing by cleaving the flap structure at the junction between single-stranded (ss) DNA and double-stranded (ds) DNA, an intermediate formed during Okazaki fragment processing, resulting in ligatable nicked dsDNA. It was reported that hChlR1, a member of the cohesion establishment factor family, stimulates hFen1 nuclease activity regardless of its ATPase activity. In this study, we found that cohesion establishment factors cooperatively stimulate endonuclease activity of hFen1 in in vivo mimic condition, including replication protein-A-coated DNA and high salt. Our findings are helpful to explain how a DNA replication machinery larger than the cohesion complex goes through the cohesin ring structure on DNA during S phase in the cell cycle.