Cyclin D1, which is suggested to have a role in G1 control during the cell cycle, is genetically linked to BCL-1 and is widely overexpressed in parathyroid, breast, and squamous cancer cells. We postulated that cyclin D1 regulation may also be important in lung cancer. Therefore, we characterized the cell cycle-dependent expression of cyclin D1 at both mRNA and protein levels in synchronized human A549 lung carcinoma cells. Monospecific anti-cyclin D1 C-terminal peptide antibodies recognized both p36cyclinD1 and an as-yet uncharacterized 45 kD protein (p45). A549 cells were synchronized with well-studied drugs. Cyclin D1 mRNA expression remained relatively constant, with less than a twofold fluctuation during the cell cycle and with a minor peak at M phase. However, the p36cyclinD1 protein fluctuated during the A549 cell cycle and was expressed at very low levels in late G1 and at the G1/S boundary, but then increased in S phase and peaked at M phase. In contrast, p45 protein was expressed at relatively high levels in late G1 and reached maximal levels at the G1/S boundary, was expressed at decreased levels in S phase, and then had disappeared by M phase. Moreover, p45 was highly expressed only in transformed alveolar epithelial cells, but not in normal rat alveolar epithelial cells or fetal rat lung fibroblasts in primary cultures. In mink Mv1Lu cells, the expression of p45 was totally blocked by transforming growth factor-beta 1 treatment or contact inhibition. p45 protein was phosphorylated on serine, threonine, and tyrosine residues in A549 cells in culture. The phosphorylation of the p45 protein was cell cycle-regulated and reached its maximal levels at G2/M phase. The p45 protein had a different peptide map from p36cyclinD1 after cleavage with N-chlorosuccinimide. Immunoprecipitation studies showed that p45 was also anti-ubiquitin immunoreactive during the cell cycle. We conclude that p36cyclinD1 and the p45 protein are differentially regulated in a cell cycle-dependent manner in A549 cells. Although p45 is antigenically related to p36cyclinD1, it is probably not a closely cyclin-related protein. We speculate that p45 may be associated with malignant transformation and may play a distinct role from p36cyclinD1 in regulation of the cell cycle in A549 cells.