Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is a 28kDa nuclear protein associated with the cell cycle, a nuclear protein vital for cellular DNA synthesis. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen was originally identified by immunofluorescence as a nuclear protein whose appearance correlated with the proliferate state of the cell. PCNA is required for replication of DNA in vitro and has been identified as the auxiliary protein (cofactor) for DNA polymerase delta. The anti-PCNA antibodies react with the nuclei of proliferating cells. PCNA is essential for cellular DNA synthesis and is also required for the in vitro replication of simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA where it acts to coordinate leading and lagging strand synthesis at the replication fork. The PCNA protein may fulfil several separate roles in the cell nucleus associated with changes in its antigenic structure.
