ABL-Basic Research Program, NCI-FCRDC, Frederick, Maryland 21702-1201, USA.
Several genes have been identified as targets for transcriptional activation by the p53 tumour suppressor protein. Rodent cyclin G was previously identified as a p53 responsive gene and in order to assess the role played by cyclin G as a mediator of p53 function in humans cells we have isolated full length human cyclin G1 and identified a related gene designated cyclin G2. Both human G-cyclins are induced by the DNA damaging agent actinomycin-D and although the induction of cyclin G1 is clearly p53 dependent, activation of cyclin G2 expression was observed in the absence of p53. Based on sequence similarity, the G-cyclins and the recently identified cyclin I form a distinct sub-group within the larger cyclin family, possibly reflecting some degree of functional similarity.