scholarly journals FAM29A promotes microtubule amplification via recruitment of the NEDD1–γ-tubulin complex to the mitotic spindle

2008 ◽  
Vol 183 (5) ◽  
pp. 835-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Zhu ◽  
Judith A. Coppinger ◽  
Chang-Young Jang ◽  
John R. Yates ◽  
Guowei Fang

Microtubules (MTs) are nucleated from centrosomes and chromatin. In addition, MTs can be generated from preexiting MTs in a γ-tubulin–dependent manner in yeast, plant, and Drosophila cells, although the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Here we show the spindle-associated protein FAM29A promotes MT-dependent MT amplification and is required for efficient chromosome congression and segregation in mammalian cells. Depletion of FAM29A reduces spindle MT density. FAM29A is not involved in the nucleation of MTs from centrosomes and chromatin, but is required for a subsequent increase in MT mass in cells released from nocodazole. FAM29A interacts with the NEDD1–γ-tubulin complex and recruits this complex to the spindle, which, in turn, promotes MT polymerization. FAM29A preferentially associates with kinetochore MTs and knockdown of FAM29A reduces the number of MTs in a kinetochore fiber, activates the spindle checkpoint, and delays the mitotic progression. Our study provides a biochemical mechanism for MT-dependent MT amplification and for the maturation of kinetochore fibers in mammalian cells.

2008 ◽  
Vol 181 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang-Young Jang ◽  
Jim Wong ◽  
Judith A. Coppinger ◽  
Akiko Seki ◽  
John R. Yates ◽  
...  

Dynamic turnover of the spindle is a driving force for chromosome congression and segregation in mitosis. Through a functional genomic analysis, we identify DDA3 as a previously unknown regulator of spindle dynamics that is essential for mitotic progression. DDA3 depletion results in a high frequency of unaligned chromosomes, a substantial reduction in tension across sister kinetochores at metaphase, and a decrease in the velocity of chromosome segregation at anaphase. DDA3 associates with the mitotic spindle and controls microtubule (MT) dynamics. Mechanistically, DDA3 interacts with the MT depolymerase Kif2a in an MT-dependent manner and recruits Kif2a to the mitotic spindle and spindle poles. Depletion of DDA3 increases the steady-state levels of spindle MTs by reducing the turnover rate of the mitotic spindle and by increasing the rate of MT polymerization, which phenocopies the effects of partial knockdown of Kif2a. Thus, DDA3 represents a new class of MT-destabilizing protein that controls spindle dynamics and mitotic progression by regulating MT depolymerases.


2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 410-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulf R. Klein ◽  
Markus Haindl ◽  
Erich A. Nigg ◽  
Stefan Muller

The ubiquitin-like SUMO system controls cellular key functions, and several lines of evidence point to a critical role of SUMO for mitotic progression. However, in mammalian cells mitotic substrates of sumoylation and the regulatory components involved are not well defined. Here, we identify Borealin, a component of the chromosomal passenger complex (CPC), as a mitotic target of SUMO. The CPC, which additionally comprises INCENP, Survivin, and Aurora B, regulates key mitotic events, including chromosome congression, the spindle assembly checkpoint, and cytokinesis. We show that Borealin is preferentially modified by SUMO2/3 and demonstrate that the modification is dynamically regulated during mitotic progression, peaking in early mitosis. Intriguingly, the SUMO ligase RanBP2 interacts with the CPC, stimulates SUMO modification of Borealin in vitro, and is required for its modification in vivo. Moreover, the SUMO isopeptidase SENP3 is a specific interaction partner of Borealin and catalyzes the removal of SUMO2/3 from Borealin. These data thus delineate a mitotic SUMO2/3 conjugation–deconjugation cycle of Borealin and further assign a regulatory function of RanBP2 and SENP3 in the mitotic SUMO pathway.


2018 ◽  
Vol 217 (3) ◽  
pp. 861-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni Petsalaki ◽  
Maria Dandoulaki ◽  
George Zachos

The mitotic spindle checkpoint delays anaphase onset in the presence of unattached kinetochores, and efficient checkpoint signaling requires kinetochore localization of the Rod–ZW10–Zwilch (RZZ) complex. In the present study, we show that human Chmp4c, a protein involved in membrane remodeling, localizes to kinetochores in prometaphase but is reduced in chromosomes aligned at the metaphase plate. Chmp4c promotes stable kinetochore–microtubule attachments and is required for proper mitotic progression, faithful chromosome alignment, and segregation. Depletion of Chmp4c diminishes localization of RZZ and Mad1-Mad2 checkpoint proteins to prometaphase kinetochores and impairs mitotic arrest when microtubules are depolymerized by nocodazole. Furthermore, Chmp4c binds to ZW10 through a small C-terminal region, and constitutive Chmp4c kinetochore targeting causes a ZW10-dependent checkpoint metaphase arrest. In addition, Chmp4c spindle functions do not require endosomal sorting complex required for transport–dependent membrane remodeling. These results show that Chmp4c regulates the mitotic spindle checkpoint by promoting localization of the RZZ complex to unattached kinetochores.


eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander JR Booth ◽  
Zuojun Yue ◽  
John K Eykelenboom ◽  
Tom Stiff ◽  
GW Gant Luxton ◽  
...  

To ensure proper segregation during mitosis, chromosomes must be efficiently captured by spindle microtubules and subsequently aligned on the mitotic spindle. The efficacy of chromosome interaction with the spindle can be influenced by how widely chromosomes are scattered in space. Here, we quantify chromosome-scattering volume (CSV) and find that it is reduced soon after nuclear envelope breakdown (NEBD) in human cells. The CSV reduction occurs primarily independently of microtubules and is therefore not an outcome of interactions between chromosomes and the spindle. We find that, prior to NEBD, an acto-myosin network is assembled in a LINC complex-dependent manner on the cytoplasmic surface of the nuclear envelope. This acto-myosin network remains on nuclear envelope remnants soon after NEBD, and its myosin-II-mediated contraction reduces CSV and facilitates timely chromosome congression and correct segregation. Thus, we find a novel mechanism that positions chromosomes in early mitosis to ensure efficient and correct chromosome–spindle interactions.


2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 1667-1675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernardo Orr ◽  
Olga Afonso ◽  
Tália Feijão ◽  
Claudio E. Sunkel

The kinetochore is a complex molecular machine that serves as the interface between sister chromatids and the mitotic spindle. The kinetochore assembles at a particular chromosomal locus, the centromere, which is essential to maintain genomic stability during cell division. The kinetochore is a macromolecular puzzle of subcomplexes assembled in a hierarchical manner and fulfils three main functions: microtubule attachment, chromosome and sister chromatid movement, and regulation of mitotic progression though the spindle assembly checkpoint. In the present paper we compare recent results on the assembly, organization and function of the kinetochore in human and Drosophila cells and conclude that, although essential functions are highly conserved, there are important differences that might help define what is a minimal chromosome segregation machinery.


2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 2935-2944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Fu Huang ◽  
Margaret Dah-Tsyr Chang ◽  
Sheau-Yann Shieh

ABSTRACT Upon prolonged arrest in mitosis, cells undergo adaptation and exit mitosis without cell division. These tetraploid cells are either eliminated by apoptosis or arrested in the subsequent G1 phase in a spindle checkpoint- and p53-dependent manner. p53 has long been known to be activated by spindle poisons, such as nocodazole and Taxol, although the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here we present evidence that stabilization and activation of p53 by spindle disruption requires the spindle checkpoint kinase TTK/hMps1. TTK/hMps1 phoshorylates the N-terminal domain of p53 at Thr18, and this phosphorylation disrupts the interaction with MDM2 and abrogates MDM2-mediated p53 ubiquitination. Phosphorylation at Thr18 enhances p53-dependent activation of not only p21 but also Lats2, two mediators of the postmitotic checkpoint. Furthermore, a phospho-mimicking substitution at Thr18 (T18D) is more competent than the phospho-deficient mutant (T18A) in rescuing the tetraploid checkpoint defect of p53-depleted cells. Our findings therefore provide a mechanism connecting the spindle checkpoint with p53 in the maintenance of genome stability.


2006 ◽  
Vol 173 (6) ◽  
pp. 879-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Wong ◽  
Guowei Fang

Through a functional genomic screen for mitotic regulators, we identified hepatoma up-regulated protein (HURP) as a protein that is required for chromosome congression and alignment. In HURP-depleted cells, the persistence of unaligned chromosomes and the reduction of tension across sister kinetochores on aligned chromosomes resulted in the activation of the spindle checkpoint. Although these defects transiently delayed mitotic progression, HeLa cells initiated anaphase without resolution of these deficiencies. This bypass of the checkpoint arrest provides a tumor-specific mechanism for chromosome missegregation and genomic instability. Mechanistically, HURP colocalized with the mitotic spindle in a concentration gradient increasing toward the chromosomes. HURP binds directly to microtubules in vitro and enhances their polymerization. In vivo, HURP stabilizes mitotic microtubules, promotes microtubule polymerization and bipolar spindle formation, and decreases the turnover rate of the mitotic spindle. Thus, HURP controls spindle stability and dynamics to achieve efficient kinetochore capture at prometaphase, timely chromosome congression to the metaphase plate, and proper interkinetochore tension for anaphase initiation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 209 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura O’Regan ◽  
Josephina Sampson ◽  
Mark W. Richards ◽  
Axel Knebel ◽  
Daniel Roth ◽  
...  

Hsp70 proteins represent a family of chaperones that regulate cellular homeostasis and are required for cancer cell survival. However, their function and regulation in mitosis remain unknown. In this paper, we show that the major inducible cytoplasmic Hsp70 isoform, Hsp72, is required for assembly of a robust bipolar spindle capable of efficient chromosome congression. Mechanistically, Hsp72 associates with the K-fiber–stabilizing proteins, ch-TOG and TACC3, and promotes their interaction with each other and recruitment to spindle microtubules (MTs). Targeting of Hsp72 to the mitotic spindle is dependent on phosphorylation at Thr-66 within its nucleotide-binding domain by the Nek6 kinase. Phosphorylated Hsp72 concentrates on spindle poles and sites of MT–kinetochore attachment. A phosphomimetic Hsp72 mutant rescued defects in K-fiber assembly, ch-TOG/TACC3 recruitment and mitotic progression that also resulted from Nek6 depletion. We therefore propose that Nek6 facilitates association of Hsp72 with the mitotic spindle, where it promotes stable K-fiber assembly through recruitment of the ch-TOG–TACC3 complex.


2006 ◽  
Vol 174 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary D. Schneider ◽  
Nima Najand ◽  
Sana Chaker ◽  
Justin M. Pare ◽  
Julie Haskins ◽  
...  

In mammalian cells, the GW182 protein localizes to cytoplasmic bodies implicated in the regulation of messenger RNA (mRNA) stability, translation, and the RNA interference pathway. Many of these functions have also been assigned to analogous yeast cytoplasmic mRNA processing bodies. We have characterized the single Drosophila melanogaster homologue of the human GW182 protein family, which we have named Gawky (GW). Drosophila GW localizes to punctate, cytoplasmic foci in an RNA-dependent manner. Drosophila GW bodies (GWBs) appear to function analogously to human GWBs, as human GW182 colocalizes with GW when expressed in Drosophila cells. The RNA-induced silencing complex component Argonaute2 and orthologues of LSm4 and Xrn1 (Pacman) associated with 5′–3′ mRNA degradation localize to some GWBs. Reducing GW activity by mutation or antibody injection during syncytial embryo development leads to abnormal nuclear divisions, demonstrating an early requirement for GWB-mediated cytoplasmic mRNA regulation. This suggests that gw represents a previously unknown member of a small group of genes that need to be expressed zygotically during early embryo development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin N. Nelson ◽  
Savannah G. Beakley ◽  
Sierra Posey ◽  
Brittney Conn ◽  
Emma Maritz ◽  
...  

AbstractCryptococcal meningitis is a life-threatening disease among immune compromised individuals that is caused by the opportunistic fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. Previous studies have shown that the fungus is phagocytosed by dendritic cells (DCs) and trafficked to the lysosome where it is killed by both oxidative and non-oxidative mechanisms. While certain molecules from the lysosome are known to kill or inhibit the growth of C. neoformans, the lysosome is an organelle containing many different proteins and enzymes that are designed to degrade phagocytosed material. We hypothesized that multiple lysosomal components, including cysteine proteases and antimicrobial peptides, could inhibit the growth of C. neoformans. Our study identified the contents of the DC lysosome and examined the anti-cryptococcal properties of different proteins found within the lysosome. Results showed several DC lysosomal proteins affected the growth of C. neoformans in vitro. The proteins that killed or inhibited the fungus did so in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the concentration of protein needed for cryptococcal inhibition was found to be non-cytotoxic to mammalian cells. These data show that many DC lysosomal proteins have antifungal activity and have potential as immune-based therapeutics.


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