DNA polymerase, thymidine kinase and DNA synthesis in erythropoietic mouse spleen cells separated on bovine serum albumin gradients.

A single dose of erythropoietin stimulates DNA synthesis in the spleen of the polycythemic mouse with the maximum effect occurring 48 h after the hormone is administered. The increase in DNA synthesis is accompanied by morphologic evidence of increased erythropoiesis and by increases in the activities per cell of both thymidine kinase and cytoplasmic high molecular weight DNA polymerase-alpha. The activity of low molecular weight DNA polymerase-beta does not change significantly. Spleen cells from mice which had received either erythropoietin or saline 48 h previously were separated into 7 density classes on discontinuous bovine serum albumin gradients. Following the administration of erythropoietin, thymidine incorporation and thymidine kinase activity showed the greatest relative increases per nucleated cell in layers 3, 4 and 5 of the gradient. DNA polymerase-alpha showed the greatest increase in cells of the denser layers 5, 6 and 7. Each layer contained normoblasts and lymphocytes. The less well differentiated erythroid elements constituted a larger proportion of cells in layers of lower density. Increases in the rates of thymidine incorporation were better correlated with increases in thymidine kinase activity than with increases in DNA polymerase activities. Measurement of iron incorporation into heme confirm the morphological impression that the cell type responsible for increased thymidine incorporation and increased DNA polymerase-alpha activity is the young normblast.     

EHRLICH ASCITES TUMOR (EAT) CHALONE EFFECTS ON NASCENT DNA SYNTHESIS AND DNA POLYMERASE ALPHA AND BETA

EAT chalone effects on nascent DNA synthesis and DNA polymerase were examined. Concentration related inhibition of ³H-thymidine (³H-TdR) incorporation into EAT cell DNA was noted over a chalone range of 50–200 μg/ml. RNA synthesis was not affected, but protein synthesis decreased an average of 82% during 3 hr. Nascent DNA pulse-labeled for 2 min was normally incorporated into bulk DNA in the presence of chalone, but crude α and β-polymerase activities were inhibited. Crude DNA polymerase from C₃H mouse kidney and spleen was also partially inhibited by EAT chalone, suggesting non-specific inhibition of DNA polymerase. Preincubation studies of chalone with crude EAT DNA polymerase or ‘gapped’ DNA primer had no effect on chalone activity. Chalone may control mitotic activity by inhibiting α- and β-polymerase activity, thereby decreasing nascent DNA synthesis. Nascent DNA is incorporated normally into bulk DNA in the presence of chalone, indicating that DNA ligase is not inhibited.     

Erythropoietin effects on iron metabolism in rat bone marrow cells

This paper describes a study of the incorporation of ^{5 9}Fe from ^{5 9}Fe-labelled rat transferrin into rat bone marrow cells in culture. ^{5 9}Fe was found in both stroma and cytoplasm of marrow cells, and the cytoplasmic ^{5 9}Fe separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, into ferritin, haemoglobin and a low molecular weight fraction.The incorporation of ^{5 9}Fe into all three cytoplasmic fractions, but not into the stroma, increased progressively with time. Erythropoietin stimulated the increase of ^{5 9}Fe in ferritin within 1 h, the earliest time examined, and more than 3 h later in the stroma and haemoglobin.A proportion of the ⁵⁹Fe incorporated into the stroma and low molecular weight iron fractions during a 1 h incubation with ⁵⁹Fe-labelled transferrin was mobilised into ferritin and haemoglobin during a subsequent 4-h “cold-chase”. Erythropoietin, when present during the “cold-chase”, did not influence these ⁵⁹Fe fluxes. The erythropoietin stimulation of ⁵⁹Fe incorporation into ferritin, one of the earliest erythropoietin effects to be recorded, was therefore considered to be due to an increase of ⁵⁹Fe uptake by the hormone-responsive cells rather than a direct effect on ferritin synthesis.20-h cultures containing erythropoietin when incubated with ⁵⁹Fe-labelled transferrin for 4 h, showed dose-related erythropoietin stimulation of ⁵⁹Fe incorporation into haemoglobin only.In the presence of 10 mM isonicotinic acid hydrazide, ⁵⁹Fe incorporation into haemoglobin was inhibited, as in reticulocytes (Ponka, P. and Neuwirt, J. (1969) Blood 33, 690–707), while that into the stroma, ferritin and low molecular weight iron fractions, was stimulated; there were no reproducible effects of erythropoietin.     

The Polymerase Activity of Mammalian DNA Pol ζ Is Specifically Required for Cell and Embryonic Viability

DNA polymerase ζ (pol ζ) is exceptionally important for maintaining genome stability. Inactivation of the Rev3l gene encoding the polymerase catalytic subunit causes a high frequency of chromosomal breaks, followed by lethality in mouse embryos and in primary cells. Yet it is not known whether the DNA polymerase activity of pol ζ is specifically essential, as the large REV3L protein also serves as a multiprotein scaffold for translesion DNA synthesis via multiple conserved structural domains. We report that Rev3l cDNA rescues the genomic instability and DNA damage sensitivity of Rev3l-null immortalized mouse fibroblast cell lines. A cDNA harboring mutations of conserved catalytic aspartate residues in the polymerase domain of REV3L could not rescue these phenotypes. To investigate the role of REV3L DNA polymerase activity in vivo, a Rev3l knock-in mouse was constructed with this polymerase-inactivating alteration. No homozygous mutant mice were produced, with lethality occurring during embryogenesis. Primary fibroblasts from mutant embryos showed growth defects, elevated DNA double-strand breaks and cisplatin sensitivity similar to Rev3l-null fibroblasts. We tested whether the severe Rev3l^-/- phenotypes could be rescued by deletion of DNA polymerase η, as has been reported with chicken DT40 cells. However, Rev3l^-/- Polh^-/- mice were inviable, and derived primary fibroblasts were as sensitive to DNA damage as Rev3l^-/- Polh^+/+ fibroblasts. Therefore, the functions of REV3L in maintaining cell viability, embryonic viability and genomic stability are directly dependent on its polymerase activity, and cannot be ameliorated by an additional deletion of pol η. These results validate and encourage the approach of targeting the DNA polymerase activity of pol ζ to sensitize tumors to DNA damaging agents.     

CHANGES IN CHROMATIN TEMPLATE ACTIVITY AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO DNA SYNTHESIS IN MOUSE PAROTID GLANDS STIMULATED BY ISOPROTERENOL

Chromatin template activity of mouse parotid glands increases after a single injection of isoproterenol (IPR), a procedure that causes, after a lag period of 20 hr, a marked stimulation of DNA synthesis and cell division in salivary glands of rodents. The increase in chromatin template activity occurs as early as 1 hr and peaks between 6 and 10 hr after IPR, paralleling previously reported changes in the incorporation of uridine-³H into total cellular RNA of mouse parotids. Template activity was measured in vitro in a system in which parotid gland chromatin was incubated with an exogenous RNA polymerase isolated from Escherichia coli. Similar results were obtained when template activity of parotid gland chromatin was assayed using an homologous RNA polymerase from mouse liver. Chromatin template activity in mouse parotids was also studied after the administration of drugs capable of inducing in salivary glands both DNA synthesis and secretion or secretion alone. The results indicate that the increased chromatin template activity occurring 6 hr after IPR is related to the subsequent onset of DNA synthesis. Furthermore, the increased chromatin template activity caused by IPR is inhibited by the previous administration of puromycin, an inhibitor of IPR-stimulated DNA synthesis.     

Effect of arabinosyl cytosine on the level of DNA polymerase and thymidine kinase activity in PHA-stimulated human tonsillar lymphocytes

Summary The effect of arabinosyl cytosine (ara-C) was studied on the uptake, phosphorylation and incorporation of ³H-thymidine in human tonsillar lymphocyte cultures is described along with its effect on the level of DNA polymerase and thymidine kinase activities induced by phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). Freshly isolated tonsillar lymphocytes are stimulated cells with a remarkably high activity of DNA polymerase a and thymidine kinase. During in vitro culture, these stimulated cells are transformed to the resting state with low DNA polymerase and thymidine kinase activity. However, a new DNA synthesising cycle can be induced by PHA with maximum at 48 h.10^–6 M ara-C inhibited the incorporation of ³H-thymidine by 90–95%. This inhibition may be reversed by rinsing the cells. The inhibition of the transport of ³H-thymidine seems to be only a consequence of the inhibitory effect of ara-C on the DNA polymerisation reaction, because at 10 °C, where DNA synthesis was arrested, ara-C does not influence the uptake and the phosphorylation of ³H-thymidine.Ara-C (10^–6 M) abolished also the PHA induced elevation of DNA polymerase a and thymidine kinase activities without influencing protein synthesis of the cell. This supports a coordinated regulation mechanism between DNA synthesis and the synthesis of enzymes involved in DNA replication.     

Enzyme Induction in Green Monkey Kidney Cultures Infected with Simian Adenovirus

Thymidine kinase was induced after infection of an established strain of green monkey kidney cells (CV-1) with simian adenovirus SV15. Increased levels of thymidine kinase were first observed 8 to 10 hr postinoculation (PI), and the levels increased four- to eightfold by 16 to 24 hr PI. A transient increase (1.5- to 3-fold) of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) polymerase activity was also observed about 18 hr PI, but the level of deoxycytidylic deaminase was not enhanced. The inductions of thymidine kinase and DNA polymerase were not obtained when protein synthesis was inhibited with 10⁻⁵ M cycloheximide. However, the enzyme increases did take place when infected cultures were treated with 1-β-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C), an inhibitor of DNA synthesis and SV15 replication. The incorporation of tritium-labeled thymidine (H³-dT) into DNA was also stimulated 8 to 24 hr after infection with SV15.     

Prostaglandin D2 lowers nuclear DNA polymerase activity in cultured mastocytoma cells

Prostaglandin D₂ strongly inhibited growth of cultured mastocytoma P-815, 2-E-6 cells, which were established and cloned from mouse mast tumor cells. The inhibition was dose-dependent (IC₅₀ = 2.09 × 10⁻⁵ M). Prostaglandin D₂ also inhibited the DNA synthesizing activity of the cells dose-dependently. We next measured the activities of endogenous DNA polymerases extracted from untreated and prostaglandin D₂-treated cells. Prostaglandin D₂ pretreatment reduced DNA polymerase α activity by 52%. The sedimentation coefficients of the enzymes from untreated and prostaglandin D₂-treated cells were the same suggesting there was no gross change in the size of the enzyme. Prostaglandin D₂ pretreatment of the cells reduced endogenous DNA polymerase β activity to 68% of the control value; the sedimentation coefficients of the enzymes from treated and untreated cells were both 3.5 S. Interestingly, prostaglandin D₂ had no direct inhibitory effect on the activity of either DNA polymerase α or β. Our results indicate that the activities of DNA polymerase α and β are lower in prostaglandin D₂-treated mastocytoma cells. This finding account for the lower level of DNA synthesis in these cells.     

Antiproliferative Effect of DNA Polymerase α Antisense Oligodeoxynucleotides on Breast Cancer Cells

Antisense oligonucleotides appear to offer considerable promise as sequence-specific inhibitors of gene expression. Different cellular targets for oligodeoxynucleotides with oncologic interest have been identified such as oncogenes, growth factors, and cell cycle-related genes. DNA polymerase α (polα) plays a relevant role in DNA synthesis and cell proliferation. Polα gene expression is constitutive throughout the cell cycle and its mRNA content and activity are related to the growth rate and neoplastic phenotype. The effects of a 18-mer polα antisense oligomer on the proliferation of the MDA-MB 231 breast cancer cell line have been investigated. After 48 h in culture with oligomers (10 μM), about 50% growth inhibition was observed in antisense-treated cells, as evaluated by 3-(4, 5-dimethythiazol-2yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay and cell count. [³H]Thymidine incorporation exhibited a 90% inhibition of DNA synthesis associated to 64% accumulation of cells at the G1-S border of the cycle as by flow cytometry, at 24 h. Northern hybridization and SDS-PAGE of immunoprecipitated MDA-MB 231 cell lysates revealed a decreased expression of polα mRNA and a reduction of the 180-kDa polypeptide, respectively. Collectively, the data further confirm the relevance of polα in the replicative cycle, as well as strengthen the potentiality of the antisense strategy for the control of gene expression and cell growth.     

The shift of an increase in phosphofructokinase activity from protein synthesis-dependent to -independent mode during concanavalin A induced lymphocyte proliferation

Phosphofructokinase activity increased dramatically in cultured mouse spleen lymphocytes 8 hours after concanavalin A stimulation and preceded the onset of DNA synthesis by 8 hours. The increase in enzyme activity and [³H]-thymidine incorporation were mitogen-concentration dependent. Enzyme activity increased 12-fold over control level at 48 hours when DNA synthesis peaked. The protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide, blocked the rise in phosphofructokinase only when given prior to the increase in enzyme activity. Once the increase began, later addition of cycloheximide became progressively less inhibitory. These observations suggest that the period of increase in phosphofructokinase activity involves the activation of preexisting enzyme molecules.     

Effect of ESF preparations on different types of erythroblasts

A new method of quantitative ¹⁴C-autoradiography was applied for evaluating possible effects of erythropoietin (ESF) on the DNA synthesis rate of differentiated erythroid murine bone marrow cells identified as proerythroblasts, basophilic and polychromatic erythroblasts. Eosinophilic myelocytes were used as a control cell population. ESF was prepared from the urine of a patient with chronic aplastic anemia; an inactive urinary preparation served as control. The potency of the preparations was estimated by the ⁵⁹Fe-incorporation assay. The materials to be tested were injected into polycythemic mice 4, 8 and 16 hours before in vitro short-term incubation of the bone marrow cells with ¹⁴C-thymidine and Methotrexate. Animals without test material were taken as additional controls. Autoradiographic grains were counted by an incident light microscope photometer. Eight hours after injection of ESF a significant increase in the mean ¹⁴C-thymidine incorporation was found in all three erythroid cell types when compared either with the inactive control preparation (excess incorporation 30–40%) or with the untreated control animals (excess incorporation 10–20%). It could be shown that the increase is due to an immediate action of ESF on already differentiated cells and cannot –- at least not solely –- be attributed to its action on hemopoietic stem cells. The control preparation which was inactive in terms of ⁵⁹Fe incorporation exerted a slight inhibition of DNA synthesis rate in all erythroid cells as well as in cells not committed to erythroid differentiation.     

2′,3′-Dideoxy-3′-aminonucleoside 5′-triphosphates inhibit the repair of DNA in rat liver chromatin

2′,3′-Dideoxy-3′-aminonucleoside 5′-triphosphates are shown to be strong inhibitors of repair DNA synthesis in γ-irradiated rat liver chromatin. The activity of these compounds is comparable with that of the most effective inhibitor of the DNA polymerase β-catalyzed repair DNA synthesis.     

RNA aptamers selected against DNA polymerase beta inhibit the polymerase activities of DNA polymerases beta and kappa

DNA polymerase β (polβ), a member of the X family of DNA polymerases, is the major polymerase in the base excision repair pathway. Using in vitro selection, we obtained RNA aptamers for polβ from a variable pool of 8 × 10¹² individual RNA sequences containing 30 random nucleotides. A total of 60 individual clones selected after seven rounds were screened for the ability to inhibit polβ activity. All of the inhibitory aptamers analyzed have a predicted tri-lobed structure. Gel mobility shift assays demonstrate that the aptamers can displace the DNA substrate from the polβ active site. Inhibition by the aptamers is not polymerase specific; inhibitors of polβ also inhibited DNA polymerase κ, a Y-family DNA polymerase. However, the RNA aptamers did not inhibit the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase I and only had a minor effect on RB69 DNA polymerase activity. Polβ and κ, despite sharing little sequence similarity and belonging to different DNA polymerase families, have similarly open active sites and relatively few interactions with their DNA substrates. This may allow the aptamers to bind and inhibit polymerase activity. RNA aptamers with inhibitory properties may be useful in modulating DNA polymerase actvity in cells.     

Induction of delta-Aminolevulinic Acid Synthase Activity and Inhibition of Heme Synthesis in Euglena gracilis by N-Methyl Mesoporphyrin IX

N-Methyl mesoporphyrin IX, an inhibitor of heme synthesis, increases extractable δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) synthase activity when administered to growing cultures of Euglena gracilis Klebs strain Z Pringsheim in micromolar concentrations. Wild-type light-grown green cells and white aplastidic cells exhibited 2.8-fold and 1.8-fold increases, respectively, in ALA synthase activity within five to six hours after incubation with 4 × 10⁻⁶ molar N-methyl mesoporphyrin IX. Protoheme levels were decreased and ⁵⁹Fe incorporation into heme was inhibited by N-methyl mesoporphyrin IX, indicating that, as in animal cells, N-methyl mesoporphyrin IX acts specifically to block iron insertion into protoporphyrin IX. Chlorophyll synthesis in wild-type cells was not affected within the first 6 hours after administration of N-methyl mesoporphyrin IX.     

Protein phosphorylation in intact lymphocytes stimulated by Concanavalin A

The phosphorylation of proteins in intact mouse spleen lymphocytes was monitored following mitogenic activation. Little change in the autoradiographic patterns of phosphorylated protein fractionated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis occurred during the first 8 h after Concanavalin A (conA) treatment. The intensity of ³²P incorporation into two proteins of 135 000 and 150 000 mol. wt began to increase, relative to control cells, 10 h after conA treatment and was maximal at 50 h. This increased phosphorylation followed the rise in RNA synthesis but preceded the onset of DNA synthesis. In addition to this temporal link between enhanced phosphorylation of these proteins and the initiation of DNA synthesis, various agents which inhibited the onset of S phase also blocked the phosphorylation of both proteins. Such treatments included the displacement of conA from its surface receptors by α-methyl-mannoside (αMM), the omission of serum from the culture medium, and the presence of indomethacin. The similar time courses of phosphorylation and responses to various proliferation inhibitors supports the idea that the 135 000 and 150 000 mol. wt proteins have a common physiological function. These proteins may be involved in the progression of stimulated lymphocytes toward S phase, and their phosphorylation may be an important regulatory event in this sequence.     

Sphingosine,a Modulator of Human Translesion DNA Polymerase Activity

Translesion (TLS) DNA polymerases are specialized, error-prone enzymes that synthesize DNA across bulky, replication-stalling DNA adducts. In so doing, they facilitate the progression of DNA synthesis and promote cell proliferation. To potentiate the effect of cancer chemotherapeutic regimens, we sought to identify inhibitors of TLS DNA polymerases. We screened five libraries of ∼3000 small molecules, including one comprising ∼600 nucleoside analogs, for their effect on primer extension activity of DNA polymerase η (Pol η). We serendipitously identified sphingosine, a lipid-signaling molecule that robustly stimulates the activity of Pol η by ∼100-fold at low micromolar concentrations but inhibits it at higher concentrations. This effect is specific to the Y-family DNA polymerases, Pols η, κ, and ι. The addition of a single phosphate group on sphingosine completely abrogates this effect. Likewise, the inclusion of other sphingolipids, including ceramide and sphingomyelin to extension reactions does not elicit this response. Sphingosine increases the rate of correct and incorrect nucleotide incorporation while having no effect on polymerase processivity. Endogenous Pol η activity is modulated similarly as the recombinant enzyme. Importantly, sphingosine-treated cells exhibit increased lesion bypass activity, and sphingosine tethered to membrane lipids mimics the effects of free sphingosine. Our studies have uncovered sphingosine as a modulator of TLS DNA polymerase activity; this property of sphingosine may be associated with its known role as a signaling molecule in regulating cell proliferation in response to cellular stress.     

Induction of DNA polymerase in mouse L cells

Two molecular species of DNA polymerase are found in mouse L cells. This study is concerned with the variation of these two species of enzyme with the rate of cell growth and DNA synthesis. The 3.4 S DNA polymerase, found in both nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions of mouse L cells, remains relatively constant during different stages of the growth curve. The heterogeneous 6 to 8 S DNA polymerase, found only in the cytoplasmic fractions, varies about 5 to 12-fold in correlation with DNA synthesis, as measured by [³H]thymidine incorporation.     

Activities of DNA polymerases and RNA polymerases detected in situ in growing and differentiating cells of root cortex

Summary Activities of DNA polymerases and RNA polymerases were studied by autoradiographic methods in growing and differentiating root cortex cells ofZea mays — a species in which endomitosis occurs — andTulipa kaufmanniana — in which this process does not occur. InTulipa kaufmanniana, the highest activity of DNA polymerase appears in the nuclei of meristematic zone during the S phase of the cell cycle. InZea mays, endomitotic replication of DNA occurs in all growth and differentiation zones and the activity of DNA polymerase in the nuclei is similar to that in the meristematic zone. In both species, nuclear RNA synthesis, measured with³H uridine incorporation, is highest in the meristematic zone and declines steadily with development. Activity of nuclear RNA polymerase is present in all developmental zones in both species and is similar to that in the meristematic zone.³H uridine incorporation into nucleoli decreases markedly in both species, whereas the activity of nucleolar RNA polymerase remains at a high level in all root segments inZea mays and decreases slightly inTulipa kaufmanniana.It is argued that the differences between the incorporation of³H uridine and that or³H UMP may be caused by a reduction of the pool of endogenous ribonucleoside triphosphates. Marked activities of DNA polymerase and RNA polymerase in cytoplasm are possibly related to the growth and division of plastids and mitochondria.     

Effect of manganese on in vitro replication of damaged DNA catalyzed by the herpes simplex virus type-1 DNA polymerase

In vitro bypass of damaged DNA by replicative DNA polymerases is usually blocked by helix-distorting or bulky DNA lesions. In this study, we report that substitution of the divalent metal ion Mg²⁺ with Mn²⁺ promotes quantitative replication of model DNA substrates containing the major cisplatin or N-2-acetylaminofluorene adducts by the catalytic subunit (UL30) of the replicative DNA polymerase of herpes simplex virus. The ability of Mn²⁺ ions to confer bypass of bulky lesions was not observed with other replicative DNA polymerases of the B family, such as bacteriophage T4 or δ polymerases. However, for these enzymes, manganese induced the incorporation of one nucleotide opposite the first (3′) guanine of the d(GpG) intrastrand cisplatin lesion. Translesion replication of the cisplatin adduct by UL30 led to the incorporation of mismatched bases, with the preferential incorporation of dAMP opposite the 3′ guanine of the lesion. Furthermore, substitution of MgCl₂ with MnCl₂ greatly inhibited the 3′ to 5′ exonuclease of UL30 but had a far lesser effect on that of T4 DNA polymerase. Finally, manganese induced a conformational change in the structure of UL30 bound to the platinated substrate. Taken together, the latter findings suggest a mechanism by which manganese might allow UL30 to efficiently promote translesion DNA synthesis in vitro.     

Pre-steady-state Kinetic Analysis of a Family D DNA Polymerase from Thermococcus sp. 9°N Reveals Mechanisms for Archaeal Genomic Replication and Maintenance

Family D DNA polymerases (polDs) have been implicated as the major replicative polymerase in archaea, excluding the Crenarchaeota branch, and bear little sequence homology to other DNA polymerase families. Here we report a detailed kinetic analysis of nucleotide incorporation and exonuclease activity for a Family D DNA polymerase from Thermococcus sp. 9°N. Pre-steady-state single-turnover nucleotide incorporation assays were performed to obtain the kinetic parameters, k_pol and K_d, for correct nucleotide incorporation, incorrect nucleotide incorporation, and ribonucleotide incorporation by exonuclease-deficient polD. Correct nucleotide incorporation kinetics revealed a relatively slow maximal rate of polymerization (k_pol ∼2.5 s⁻¹) and especially tight nucleotide binding (K_d(dNTP) ∼1.7 μm), compared with DNA polymerases from Families A, B, C, X, and Y. Furthermore, pre-steady-state nucleotide incorporation assays revealed that polD prevents the incorporation of incorrect nucleotides and ribonucleotides primarily through reduced nucleotide binding affinity. Pre-steady-state single-turnover assays on wild-type 9°N polD were used to examine 3′-5′ exonuclease hydrolysis activity in the presence of Mg²⁺ and Mn²⁺. Interestingly, substituting Mn²⁺ for Mg²⁺ accelerated hydrolysis rates >40-fold (k_exo ≥110 s⁻¹ versus ≥2.5 s⁻¹). Preference for Mn²⁺ over Mg²⁺ in exonuclease hydrolysis activity is a property unique to the polD family. The kinetic assays performed in this work provide critical insight into the mechanisms that polD employs to accurately and efficiently replicate the archaeal genome. Furthermore, despite the unique properties of polD, this work suggests that a conserved polymerase kinetic pathway is present in all known DNA polymerase families.