scholarly journals Accumulation of Mad2–Cdc20 complex during spindle checkpoint activation requires binding of open and closed conformers of Mad2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

2006 ◽  
Vol 174 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luigi Nezi ◽  
Giulia Rancati ◽  
Anna De Antoni ◽  
Sebastiano Pasqualato ◽  
Simonetta Piatti ◽  
...  

The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) coordinates mitotic progression with sister chromatid alignment. In mitosis, the checkpoint machinery accumulates at kinetochores, which are scaffolds devoted to microtubule capture. The checkpoint protein Mad2 (mitotic arrest deficient 2) adopts two conformations: open (O-Mad2) and closed (C-Mad2). C-Mad2 forms when Mad2 binds its checkpoint target Cdc20 or its kinetochore receptor Mad1. When unbound to these ligands, Mad2 folds as O-Mad2. In HeLa cells, an essential interaction between C- and O-Mad2 conformers allows Mad1-bound C-Mad2 to recruit cytosolic O-Mad2 to kinetochores. In this study, we show that the interaction of the O and C conformers of Mad2 is conserved in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. MAD2 mutant alleles impaired in this interaction fail to restore the SAC in a mad2 deletion strain. The corresponding mutant proteins bind Mad1 normally, but their ability to bind Cdc20 is dramatically impaired in vivo. Our biochemical and genetic evidence shows that the interaction of O- and C-Mad2 is essential for the SAC and is conserved in evolution.

2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 2031-2044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara C. M. van de Weerdt ◽  
Marcel A. T. M. van Vugt ◽  
Catherine Lindon ◽  
Jos J. W. Kauw ◽  
Marieke J. Rozendaal ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) plays a role in numerous events in mitosis, but how the multiple functions of Plk1 are separated is poorly understood. We studied regulation of Plk1 through two putative phosphorylation residues, Ser-137 and Thr-210. Using phospho-specific antibodies, we found that Thr-210 phosphorylation precedes Ser-137 phosphorylation in vivo, the latter occurring specifically in late mitosis. We show that expression of two activating mutants of these residues, S137D and T210D, results in distinct mitotic phenotypes. Whereas expression of both phospho-mimicking mutants as well as of the double mutant leads to accelerated mitotic entry, further progression through mitosis is dramatically different: the T210D mutant causes a spindle assembly checkpoint-dependent delay, whereas the expression of the S137D mutant or the double mutant results in untimely activation of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) and frequent mitotic catastrophe. Using nonphosphorylatable Plk1-S137A and Plk1-T210A mutants, we show that both sites contribute to proper mitotic progression. Based on these observations, we propose that Plk1 function is altered at different stages of mitosis through consecutive posttranslational events, e.g., at Ser-137 and Thr-210. Furthermore, our data show that uncontrolled Plk1 activation can uncouple APC/C activity from spindle assembly checkpoint control.


2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 850-863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernardo Orr ◽  
Hassan Bousbaa ◽  
Claudio E. Sunkel

The spindle assembly checkpoint is essential to maintain genomic stability during cell division. We analyzed the role of the putative Drosophila Mad2 homologue in the spindle assembly checkpoint and mitotic progression. Depletion of Mad2 by RNAi from S2 cells shows that it is essential to prevent mitotic exit after spindle damage, demonstrating its conserved role. Mad2-depleted cells also show accelerated transit through prometaphase and premature sister chromatid separation, fail to form metaphases, and exit mitosis soon after nuclear envelope breakdown with extensive chromatin bridges that result in severe aneuploidy. Interestingly, preventing Mad2-depleted cells from exiting mitosis by a checkpoint-independent arrest allows congression of normally condensed chromosomes. More importantly, a transient mitotic arrest is sufficient for Mad2-depleted cells to exit mitosis with normal patterns of chromosome segregation, suggesting that all the associated phenotypes result from a highly accelerated exit from mitosis. Surprisingly, if Mad2-depleted cells are blocked transiently in mitosis and then released into a media containing a microtubule poison, they arrest with high levels of kinetochore-associated BubR1, properly localized cohesin complex and fail to exit mitosis revealing normal spindle assembly checkpoint activity. This behavior is specific for Mad2 because BubR1-depleted cells fail to arrest in mitosis under these experimental conditions. Taken together our results strongly suggest that Mad2 is exclusively required to delay progression through early stages of prometaphase so that cells have time to fully engage the spindle assembly checkpoint, allowing a controlled metaphase–anaphase transition and normal patterns of chromosome segregation.


Author(s):  
Heather E Arsenault ◽  
Julie M Ghizzoni ◽  
Cassandra M Leech ◽  
Anne R Diers ◽  
Stephane Gesta ◽  
...  

Abstract The spindle assembly checkpoint protects the integrity of the genome by ensuring that chromosomes are properly attached to the mitotic spindle before they are segregated during anaphase. Activation of the spindle checkpoint results in inhibition of the Anaphase Promoting Complex (APC), an E3 ubiquitin ligase that triggers the metaphase-anaphase transition. Here we show that levels of Ubc1, an E2 enzyme that functions in complex with the APC, modulate the response to spindle checkpoint activation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Overexpression of Ubc1 increased resistance to microtubule poisons, whereas Ubc1 shut-off sensitized cells. We also found that Ubc1 levels are regulated by the spindle checkpoint. Checkpoint activation or direct APC inhibition led to a decrease in Ubc1 levels, charging and half-life. Additionally, stabilization of Ubc1 prevented its downregulation by the spindle checkpoint and increased resistance to checkpoint-activating drugs. These results suggest that downregulation of Ubc1 in response to spindle checkpoint signaling is necessary for a robust cell cycle arrest.


eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin M Stormo ◽  
Donald T Fox

Duplicating chromosomes once each cell cycle produces sister chromatid pairs, which separate accurately at anaphase. In contrast, reduplicating chromosomes without separation frequently produces polytene chromosomes, a barrier to accurate mitosis. Chromosome reduplication occurs in many contexts, including: polytene tissue development, polytene tumors, and following treatment with mitosis-blocking chemotherapeutics. However, mechanisms responding to or resolving polyteny during mitosis are poorly understood. Here, using Drosophila, we uncover two distinct reduplicated chromosome responses. First, when reduplicated polytene chromosomes persist into metaphase, an anaphase delay prevents tissue malformation and apoptosis. Second, reduplicated polytene chromosomes can also separate prior to metaphase through a spindle-independent mechanism termed Separation-Into-Recent-Sisters (SIRS). Both reduplication responses require the spindle assembly checkpoint protein Mad2. While Mad2 delays anaphase separation of metaphase polytene chromosomes, Mad2’s control of overall mitotic timing ensures efficient SIRS. Our results pinpoint mechanisms enabling continued proliferation after genome reduplication, a finding with implications for cancer progression and prevention.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin M. Stormo ◽  
Donald T. Fox

ABSTRACTDuplicating chromosomes once each cell cycle produces sister chromatid pairs, which separate accurately at anaphase. In contrast, reduplicating chromosomes without separation frequently produces polytene chromosomes, a barrier to accurate mitosis. Chromosome reduplication occurs in many contexts, including: polytene tissue development, polytene tumors, and following treatment with mitosis-blocking chemotherapeutics. However, mechanisms responding to or resolving polyteny during mitosis are poorly understood. Here, using Drosophila, we uncover two distinct reduplicated chromosome responses. First, when reduplicated polytene chromosomes persist into metaphase, an anaphase delay prevents tissue malformation and apoptosis. Second, reduplicated polytene chromosomes can also separate prior to metaphase through a spindlePindependent mechanism termed Separation-Into-Recent-Sisters (SIRS). Both reduplication responses require the spindle assembly checkpoint protein Mad2. While Mad2 delays anaphase separation of metaphase polytene chromosomes, Mad2’s control of overall mitotic timing ensures efficient SIRS. Our results pinpoint mechanisms enabling continued proliferation after genome reduplication, a finding with implications for cancer progression and prevention.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teng-Long Han ◽  
Hang Sha ◽  
Jun Ji ◽  
Yun-Tian Li ◽  
Deng-Shan Wu ◽  
...  

AbstractThe anticancer effects of taxanes are attributed to the induction of mitotic arrest through activation of the spindle assembly checkpoint. Cell death following extended mitotic arrest is mediated by the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. Accordingly, factors that influence the robustness of mitotic arrest or disrupt the apoptotic machinery confer drug resistance. Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis protein. Its overexpression is associated with chemoresistance, and its targeting leads to drug sensitization. However, Survivin also acts specifically in the spindle assembly checkpoint response to taxanes. Hence, the failure of Survivin-depleted cells to arrest in mitosis may lead to taxane resistance. Here we show that Survivin depletion protects HeLa cells against docetaxel-induced apoptosis by facilitating mitotic slippage. However, Survivin depletion does not promote clonogenic survival of tumor cells but increases the level of cellular senescence induced by docetaxel. Moreover, lentiviral overexpression of Survivin does not provide protection against docetaxel or cisplatin treatment, in contrast to the anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL or Bcl-2. Our findings suggest that targeting Survivin may influence the cell response to docetaxel by driving the cells through aberrant mitotic progression, rather than directly sensitizing cells to apoptosis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (17) ◽  
pp. 2685-2696.e4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise M.E. Janssen ◽  
Tessa V. Averink ◽  
Vincent A. Blomen ◽  
Thijn R. Brummelkamp ◽  
René H. Medema ◽  
...  

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