scholarly journals Importin α phosphorylation promotes TPX2 activation by GM130 to control astral microtubules and spindle orientation

2021 ◽  
Vol 134 (4) ◽  
pp. jcs258356
Author(s):  
Haijing Guo ◽  
Jen-Hsuan Wei ◽  
Yijun Zhang ◽  
Joachim Seemann

ABSTRACTSpindle orientation is important in multiple developmental processes as it determines cell fate and function. The orientation of the spindle depends on the assembly of a proper astral microtubule network. Here, we report that the spindle assembly factor TPX2 regulates astral microtubules. TPX2 in the spindle pole area is activated by GM130 (GOLGA2) on Golgi membranes to promote astral microtubule growth. GM130 relieves TPX2 inhibition by competing for importin α1 (KPNA2) binding. Mitotic phosphorylation of importin α at serine 62 (S62) by CDK1 switches its substrate preference from TPX2 to GM130, thereby enabling competition-based activation. Importin α S62A mutation impedes local TPX2 activation and compromises astral microtubule formation, ultimately resulting in misoriented spindles. Blocking the GM130–importin α–TPX2 pathway impairs astral microtubule growth. Our results reveal a novel role for TPX2 in the organization of astral microtubules. Furthermore, we show that the substrate preference of the important mitotic modulator importin α is regulated by CDK1-mediated phosphorylation.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haijing Guo ◽  
Jen-Hsuan Wei ◽  
Joachim Seemann

AbstractSpindle orientation is important in multiple developmental processes as it determines cell fate and function. The correct orientation of the mitotic spindle depends on the assembly of a proper astral microtubule network. Here, we report that the spindle assembly factor TPX2 regulates the astral microtubule network. TPX2 in the spindle pole area is activated by GM130 on mitotic Golgi membranes to promote astral microtubule growth. GM130 relieves TPX2 inhibition by competing for importin α binding. During mitosis, phosphorylation of importin α at Serine 62 by Cdk1 switches its substrate preference from TPX2 to GM130, thereby enabling competition-based activation. Importin α S62A impedes local TPX2 activation and compromises astral microtubule formation, ultimately resulting in misoriented spindles. Blocking the GM130-importin α-TPX2 pathway impairs astral microtubule growth. Our results reveal a novel role for TPX2 in the organization of astral microtubules. Furthermore, we show that the substrate preference of the important mitotic modulator importin α is regulated by Cdk1 phosphorylation.


2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3949-3961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Yeh ◽  
Charlie Yang ◽  
Elaine Chin ◽  
Paul Maddox ◽  
E. D. Salmon ◽  
...  

In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, movement of the mitotic spindle to a predetermined cleavage plane at the bud neck is essential for partitioning chromosomes into the mother and daughter cells. Astral microtubule dynamics are critical to the mechanism that ensures nuclear migration to the bud neck. The nucleus moves in the opposite direction of astral microtubule growth in the mother cell, apparently being “pushed” by microtubule contacts at the cortex. In contrast, microtubules growing toward the neck and within the bud promote nuclear movement in the same direction of microtubule growth, thus “pulling” the nucleus toward the bud neck. Failure of “pulling” is evident in cells lacking Bud6p, Bni1p, Kar9p, or the kinesin homolog, Kip3p. As a consequence, there is a loss of asymmetry in spindle pole body segregation into the bud. The cytoplasmic motor protein, dynein, is not required for nuclear movement to the neck; rather, it has been postulated to contribute to spindle elongation through the neck. In the absence of KAR9,dynein-dependent spindle oscillations are evident before anaphase onset, as are postanaphase dynein-dependent pulling forces that exceed the velocity of wild-type spindle elongation threefold. In addition, dynein-mediated forces on astral microtubules are sufficient to segregate a 2N chromosome set through the neck in the absence of spindle elongation, but cytoplasmic kinesins are not. These observations support a model in which spindle polarity determinants (BUD6, BNI1, KAR9) and cytoplasmic kinesin (KIP3) provide directional cues for spindle orientation to the bud while restraining the spindle to the neck. Cytoplasmic dynein is attenuated by these spindle polarity determinants and kinesin until anaphase onset, when dynein directs spindle elongation to distal points in the mother and bud.


2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_4) ◽  
pp. 120-121
Author(s):  
Chloey P Guy ◽  
Catherine L Wellman ◽  
David G Riley ◽  
Charles R Long ◽  
Ron D Randel ◽  
...  

Abstract We previously determined that prenatal stress (PNS) differentially affected methylation of DNA from leukocytes of 28-d-old calves. Specifically, COX14 (cytochrome c oxidase (COX) assembly factor) and CKMT1B (mitochondrial creatine kinase U-type) were hypomethylated and COA5 (COX assembly factor 5), COX5A (COX subunit 5A), NRF1 (nuclear respiratory factor 1), and GSST1 (glutathione S-transferase theta-1) were hypermethylated in PNS compared to non-PNS calves (P ≤ 0.05). Our current objective was to test the hypothesis that PNS exhibit impaired mitochondrial function and greater oxidative stress than non-PNS calves. Blood and longissimus dorsi muscle samples were collected from yearling Brahman calves whose mothers were stressed by 2 h transportation at 60, 80, 100, 120, and 140 days of gestation (PNS; 8 bulls, 6 heifers) and non-PNS calves (4 bulls, 6 heifers). Serum was evaluated for the stress hormone, cortisol, and muscle damage marker, creatine kinase; muscle was analyzed for mitochondrial volume density and function by citrate synthase (CS) and COX activities, respectively, concentration of malondialdehyde, a lipid peroxidation marker, and activity of the antioxidant, superoxide dismutase (SOD). Data were analyzed using mixed linear models with treatment and sex as fixed effects. Serum cortisol was numerically higher in PNS than non-PNS calves but was not statistically different. Muscle CS and COX activities relative to protein were greater in PNS than non-PNS calves (P ≤ 0.03), but COX relative to CS activity was similar between groups. Activity of COX was greater in bulls than heifers (P = 0.03), but no other measure was affected by sex. All other measures were unaffected by PNS. Prenatal stress did not affect markers of muscle damage and oxidative stress in yearling Brahman calves at rest but mitochondrial volume density and function were greater in PNS calves. Acute stressors induce oxidative stress, so implications of differences in mitochondria in PNS calves following a stressor should be investigated.


Author(s):  
Karolina Punovuori ◽  
Mattias Malaguti ◽  
Sally Lowell

AbstractDuring early neural development, changes in signalling inform the expression of transcription factors that in turn instruct changes in cell identity. At the same time, switches in adhesion molecule expression result in cellular rearrangements that define the morphology of the emerging neural tube. It is becoming increasingly clear that these two processes influence each other; adhesion molecules do not simply operate downstream of or in parallel with changes in cell identity but rather actively feed into cell fate decisions. Why are differentiation and adhesion so tightly linked? It is now over 60 years since Conrad Waddington noted the remarkable "Constancy of the Wild Type” (Waddington in Nature 183: 1654–1655, 1959) yet we still do not fully understand the mechanisms that make development so reproducible. Conversely, we do not understand why directed differentiation of cells in a dish is sometimes unpredictable and difficult to control. It has long been suggested that cells make decisions as 'local cooperatives' rather than as individuals (Gurdon in Nature 336: 772–774, 1988; Lander in Cell 144: 955–969, 2011). Given that the cadherin family of adhesion molecules can simultaneously influence morphogenesis and signalling, it is tempting to speculate that they may help coordinate cell fate decisions between neighbouring cells in the embryo to ensure fidelity of patterning, and that the uncoupling of these processes in a culture dish might underlie some of the problems with controlling cell fate decisions ex-vivo. Here we review the expression and function of cadherins during early neural development and discuss how and why they might modulate signalling and differentiation as neural tissues are formed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 3955
Author(s):  
László Bálint ◽  
Zoltán Jakus

Our understanding of the function and development of the lymphatic system is expanding rapidly due to the identification of specific molecular markers and the availability of novel genetic approaches. In connection, it has been demonstrated that mechanical forces contribute to the endothelial cell fate commitment and play a critical role in influencing lymphatic endothelial cell shape and alignment by promoting sprouting, development, maturation of the lymphatic network, and coordinating lymphatic valve morphogenesis and the stabilization of lymphatic valves. However, the mechanosignaling and mechanotransduction pathways involved in these processes are poorly understood. Here, we provide an overview of the impact of mechanical forces on lymphatics and summarize the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the mechanosensation and mechanotransduction by lymphatic endothelial cells. We also discuss how these mechanosensitive pathways affect endothelial cell fate and regulate lymphatic development and function. A better understanding of these mechanisms may provide a deeper insight into the pathophysiology of various diseases associated with impaired lymphatic function, such as lymphedema and may eventually lead to the discovery of novel therapeutic targets for these conditions.


1996 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 1363-1372 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Poot ◽  
Y Z Zhang ◽  
J A Krämer ◽  
K S Wells ◽  
L J Jones ◽  
...  

Investigation of mitochondrial morphology and function has been hampered because photostable, mitochondrion-specific stains that are retained in fixed, permeabilized cells have not been available. We found that in live cell preparations, the CMXRos and H2-CMXRos dyes were more photostable than rhodamine 123. In addition, fluorescence and morphology of mitochondria stained with the CMXRos and CMXRos-H2 dyes were preserved even after formaldehyde fixation and acetone permeabilization. Using epifluorescence microscopy, we showed that CMXRos and H2-CMXRos dye fluorescence fully co-localized with antibodies to subunit I of cytochrome c oxidase, indicating that the dyes specifically stain mitochondria. Confocal microscopy of these mitochondria yielded colored banding patterns, suggesting that these dyes and the mitochondrial enzyme localize to different suborganellar regions. Therefore, these stains provide powerful tools for detailed analysis of mitochondrial fine structure. We also used poisons that decrease mitochondrial membrane potential and an inhibitor of respiration complex II to show by flow cytometry that the fluorescence intensity of CMXRos and H2-CMXRos dye staining responds to changes in mitochondrial membrane potential and function. Hence, CMXRos has the potential to monitor changes in mitochondrial function. In addition, CMXRos staining was used in conjunction with spectrally distinct fluorescent probes for the cell nucleus and the microtubule network to concomitantly evaluate multiple features of cell morphology.


Development ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 127 (23) ◽  
pp. 5157-5165 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Vernoux ◽  
J. Kronenberger ◽  
O. Grandjean ◽  
P. Laufs ◽  
J. Traas

The process of organ positioning has been addressed, using the pin-formed 1 (pin1) mutant as a tool. PIN1 is a transmembrane protein involved in auxin transport in Arabidopsis. Loss of function severely affects organ initiation, and pin1 mutants are characterised by an inflorescence meristem that does not initiate any flowers, resulting in the formation of a naked inflorescence stem. This phenotype, combined with the proposed role of PIN1 in hormone transport, makes the mutant an ideal tool to study organ formation and phyllotaxis, and here we present a detailed analysis of the molecular modifications at the shoot apex caused by the mutation. We show that meristem structure and function are not severely affected in the mutant. Major alterations, however, are observed at the periphery of the pin1 meristem, where organ initiation should occur. Although two very early markers of organ initiation, LEAFY and AINTEGUMENTA, are expressed at the periphery of the mutant meristem, the cells are not recruited into distinct primordia. Instead a ring-like domain expressing those primordium specific genes is observed around the meristem. This ring-like domain also expresses a boundary marker, CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON 2, involved in organ separation, showing that the zone at the meristem periphery has a hybrid identity. This implies that PIN1 is not only involved in organ outgrowth, but that it is also necessary for organ separation and positioning. A model is presented in which PIN1 and the local distribution of auxin control phyllotaxis.


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