The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21(WAF1/CIP1/SDI1/CAP20) exists in normal human fibroblasts in a quaternary complex with a cyclin, a cyclin-dependent kinase, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen. A model was proposed in which, during p53-mediated suppression of cell proliferation following treatment with 254 nm UV radiation (UVC), the enhanced expression of p21 might inhibit DNA replication by virtue of its interactions with proliferating cell nuclear antigen. To test this model, we examined the mechanisms of inhibition of DNA replication in diploid human fibroblasts that express human papillomavirus type 16 E6, which inactivates p53. E6-expressing cells were defective in G1 checkpoint responses of induction of p21 and G1 arrest after ionizing radiation-induced damage to DNA. Accordingly, E6-expressing cells were resistant to inactivation of single-cell colony formation by ionizing radiation. E6 cells also displayed normal S-phase checkpoint responses of inhibition and recovery of replicon initiation following exposure to ionizing radiation and normal ability to bypass pyrimidine dimers during DNA replication soon after UVC irradiation (i.e., postreplication repair). However, DNA replication 6 h after UVC exposure was significantly inhibited in E6 cells in comparison to isogenic controls. This failure to maintain DNA replication in S-phase cells was associated with enhanced sensitivity to inactivation of single-cell colony formation by UVC. These results indicate that the p53-induced p21 pathway is not involved in the immediate S-phase responses to radiation-induced DNA damage of inhibition of replicon initiation and translesion bypass. However, our results demonstrate that p53 and, conceivably, p21 contribute to the ability of normal human fibroblasts to sustain DNA replication activity and form colonies following UVC irradiation.