RPA

RPA may refer to:

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RPA (TV series)

RPA is an Australian reality television show that is filmed at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and shows the everyday workings of this major hospital in Sydney, Australia. Premiering in 1995, the programme is based on the British series Jimmy's which was filmed at St James's University Hospital in Leeds.

Format

For the majority of its thirteen-year run, each episode of RPA has run for half an hour. However, its initial 2007 run was broadcast in combined hour-long episodes, and its return later in the year saw it assume a permanent one-hour timeslot. Operations are recorded on camera and the doctors provide commentary as they operate on patients.

A new RPA: Where Are They Now series, begun in 2007, runs for half an hour. It profiles the lives of patients who have previously appeared on RPA, recapping the original stories and showing follow-ups on the patients' lives or deaths following their initial appearance on the programme. Both series are narrated by Max Cullen.

A brand-new series of the medical/observational series aired on the Nine Network in October 2008. Max Cullen will continue to narrate. The program returned in February 2009 for another brand new series.

Replication protein A

Replication protein A (RPA) is a protein that binds to single-stranded DNA in eukaryotic cells. During DNA replication, RPA prevents single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) from winding back on itself or from forming secondary structures. This keeps DNA unwound for the polymerase to replicate it. RPA also binds to ssDNA during the initial phase of homologous recombination, an important process in DNA repair and prophase I of meiosis. Hypersensitivity to DNA damaging agents can be caused by mutations in the RPA gene. Like its role in DNA replication, this keeps ssDNA from binding to itself (self-complementizing) so that the resulting nucleoprotein filament can then be bound by Rad51 and its cofactors. RPA also binds to DNA during the Nucleotide Excision Repair process. This binding stabilizes the repair complex during the repair process. A bacterial homolog is called single-strand binding protein (SSB).

Structure

RPA is a heterotrimer, composed of the subunits RPA1 (70kDa subunit), RPA2 (32kDa subunit) and RPA3 (14kDa subunit). The three RPA subunits contain OB-folds (oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide binding).