The effect of the intra-S-phase checkpoint on origins of replication in human cells

Although many chemotherapy drugs activate the intra-S-phase checkpoint pathway to block S-phase progression, not much is known about how and where the intra-S-phase checkpoint regulates origins of replication in human chromosomes. A genomic analysis of replication in human cells in the presence of hydroxyurea (HU) revealed that only the earliest origins fire, but the forks stall within 2 kb and neighboring clusters of dormant origins are activated. The initiation events are located near expressed genes with a preference for transcription start and end sites, and when they are located in intergenic regions they are located near regulatory factor-binding regions (RFBR). The activation of clustered neo-origins by HU suggests that there are many potential replication initiation sites in permissive parts of the genome, most of which are not used in a normal S phase. Consistent with this redundancy, we see multiple sites bound to MCM3 (representative of the helicase) in the region flanking three out of three origins studied in detail. Bypass of the intra-S-phase checkpoint by caffeine activates many new origins in mid- and late-replicating parts of the genome. The intra-S-phase checkpoint suppresses origin firing after the loading of Mcm10, but before the recruitment of Cdc45 and AND-1/CTF4; i.e., after helicase loading but before helicase activation and polymerase loading. Interestingly, Cdc45 recruitment upon checkpoint bypass was accompanied by the restoration of global Cdk2 kinase activity and decrease in both global and origin-bound histone H3 Lys 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3), consistent with the suggestion that both of these factors are important for Cdc45 recruitment.