Lysophosphatidic Acid-Induced EGFR Transactivation Promotes Gastric Cancer Cell DNA Replication by Stabilizing Geminin in the S Phase.

Geminin, an inhibitor of the DNA replication licensing factor, chromatin licensing and DNA replication factor (Cdt) 1, is essential for the maintenance of genomic integrity. As a multifunctional protein, geminin is also involved in tumor progression, but the molecular details are largely unknown. Here, we found that lysophosphatidic acid (LPA)-induced upregulation of geminin was specific to gastric cancer cells.

YfiF, an unknown protein, affects initiation timing of chromosome replication in Escherichia coli.

The Escherichia coli YfiF protein is functionally unknown, being predicted as a transfer RNA/ribosomal RNA (tRNA/rRNA) methyltransferase. We find that absence of the yfiF gene delays initiation of chromosome replication and the delay is reversed by ectopic expression of YfiF, whereas excess YfiF causes an early initiation. A slight decrease in both cell size and number of origin per mass is observed in ΔyfiF cells.