scholarly journals Kinetochore microtubules shorten by loss of subunits at the kinetochores of prometaphase chromosomes

1991 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Cassimeris ◽  
E.D. Salmon
Keyword(s):  
Metaphase Plate ◽  
Force Generation ◽  
Microtubule Assembly ◽  
Immunofluorescent Staining ◽  
Chromosome Movement ◽  
Mitotic Spindles ◽  
Subunit Dissociation ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Tubulin Subunit ◽  
A Site

The site of tubulin subunit dissociation was determined during poleward chromosome movement in prometaphase newt lung cell mitotic spindles using fluorescence photobleaching techniques and nocodazole-induced spindle shortening. Synchronous shortening of all kinetochore microtubules was produced by incubating cells in 17 microM nocodazole to block microtubule assembly. Under these conditions the spindle poles moved towards the metaphase plate at a rate of 3.6 +/− 0.4 microns min-1 (n = 3). On the basis of anti-tubulin immunofluorescent staining of cells fixed after incubation in nocodazole, we found that nonkinetochore microtubules rapidly disappeared and only kinetochore fibers were present after 60–90 s in nocodazole. To localize the site of tubulin subunit dissociation, a narrow bar pattern was photobleached across one half-spindle in prometaphase-metaphase cells previously microinjected with 5-(4,6-dichlorotriazin-2-yl) amino fluorescein (DTAF)-labeled tubulin. Immediately after photobleaching, cells were perfused with 17 microM nocodazole to produce shortening of kinetochore microtubules. Shortening was accompanied by a decrease in the distance between the bleach bar and the kinetochores. In contrast, there was little or no decrease in the distance between the bleach bar and the pole. Compared to their initial lengths, the average kinetochore to pole distance shortened by 18%, the bleach bar to kinetochore distance shortened by 28% and the average bleached bar to pole distance shortened by 1.6%. The data provide evidence that tubulin subunits dissociate from kinetochore microtubules at a site near the kinetochore during poleward chromosome movement. These results are consistent with models of poleward force generation for chromosome movement in which prometaphase-metaphase poleward force is generated in association with the kinetochore.

Concerning the location of the GTP hydrolysis site on microtubules

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 422-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Caplow ◽  
John Shanks ◽  
Bruna Pegoraro Brylawski
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Reaction Scheme ◽  
Product Inhibition ◽  
Microtubule Assembly ◽  
Assembly Process ◽  
Progressive Decrease ◽  
Reaction Conditions ◽  
Gtp Hydrolysis ◽  
Tubulin Subunit ◽  
A Site

The kinetics for GTP hydrolysis associated with microtubule assembly with microtubular protein has been analyzed under reaction conditions where tubulin–GDP does not readily assemble into microtubules. The GTPase rate is only slightly faster during the time when net microtubule assembly occurs, as compared with steady state. The slightly slower steady-state GTPase rate apparently results from GDP product inhibition, since the progressive decrease in the rate can be quantitatively accounted for using the previously determined GTP dissociation constant and the Ki value for GDP. Since the GTPase rate is not a function of the rate for net microtubule assembly, it is concluded that GTP hydrolysis is not required for tubulin subunit incorporation into microtubules. The constancy of the rate indicates that the GTPase reaction occurs at a site, the concentration of which does not change during the assembly process. This result is consistent with a reaction scheme in which GTP hydrolysis occurs primarily at microtubule ends. We propose that hydrolysis occurs at microtubule ends, at the interface between a long core of tubulin–GDP subunits and a short cap of tubulin–GTP subunits.

scholarly journals Aurora A site specific TACC3 phosphorylation regulates astral microtubule assembly by stabilizing γ-tubulin ring complex

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Resmi Rajeev ◽  
Puja Singh ◽  
Ananya Asmita ◽  
Ushma Anand ◽  
Tapas K. Manna
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Coiled Coil ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Microtubule Assembly ◽  
Aurora A ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Ring Complex ◽  
Division Axis ◽  
A Site

Abstract Background Astral microtubules emanating from the mitotic centrosomes play pivotal roles in defining cell division axis and tissue morphogenesis. Previous studies have demonstrated that human transforming acidic coiled-coil 3 (TACC3), the most conserved TACC family protein, regulates formation of astral microtubules at centrosomes in vertebrate cells by affecting γ-tubulin ring complex (γ-TuRC) assembly. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying such function were not completely understood. Results Here, we show that Aurora A site-specific phosphorylation in TACC3 regulates formation of astral microtubules by stabilizing γ-TuRC assembly in human cells. Mutation of the most conserved Aurora A targeting site, Ser 558 to alanine (S558A) in TACC3 results in robust loss of astral microtubules and disrupts localization of the γ-tubulin ring complex (γ-TuRC) proteins at the spindle poles. Under similar condition, phospho-mimicking S558D mutation retains astral microtubules and the γ-TuRC proteins in a manner similar to control cells expressed with wild type TACC3. Time-lapse imaging reveals that S558A mutation leads to defects in positioning of the spindle-poles and thereby causes delay in metaphase to anaphase transition. Biochemical results determine that the Ser 558- phosphorylated TACC3 interacts with the γ-TuRC proteins and further, S558A mutation impairs the interaction. We further reveal that the mutation affects the assembly of γ-TuRC from the small complex components. Conclusions The results demonstrate that TACC3 phosphorylation stabilizes γ- tubulin ring complex assembly and thereby regulates formation of centrosomal asters. They also implicate a potential role of TACC3 phosphorylation in the functional integrity of centrosomes/spindle poles.

scholarly journals NITROUS OXIDE: EFFECTS ON THE MITOTIC APPARATUS AND CHROMOSOME MOVEMENT IN HELA CELLS

1973 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. R. Brinkley ◽  
Potu N. Rao
Keyword(s):  
Nitrous Oxide ◽  
Hela Cells ◽  
Metaphase Plate ◽  
Microtubule Assembly ◽  
Chromosome Movement ◽  
Spindle Microtubule ◽  
Mitotic Apparatus ◽  
Ultrastructural Studies ◽  
Multipolar Spindles ◽  
Spindle Microtubules

When HeLa cells were grown in the presence of nitrous oxide (N2O) under pressure (80 lb/in2) mitosis was inhibited and the chromosomes displayed a typical colchicine metaphase (c-metaphase) configuration when examined by light microscopy. When the cells were returned to a 37°C incubator, mitosis was resumed and the cells entered G1 synchronously. Ultrastructural studies of N2O-blocked cells revealed a bipolar spindle with centriole pairs at each pole. Both chromosomal and interpolar (pole-to-pole) microtubules were also present. Thus, N2O, unlike most c-mitotic agents, appeared to have little or no effect upon spindle microtubule assembly. However, the failure of chromo somes to become properly aligned onto the metaphase plate indicated an impairment in normal prometaphase movement. The alignment of spindle microtubules was frequently atypical with some chromosomal microtubules extending from kinetochores to the poles, while others extended out at acute angles from the spindle axis. These ultrastructural studies indicated that N2O blocked cells at a stage in mitosis more advanced than that produced by Colcemid or other c-mitotic agents. Like Colcemid, however, prolonged arrest in mitosis with N2O led to an increased incidence of multipolar spindles.

scholarly journals Microtubule Flux and Sliding in Mitotic Spindles ofDrosophila Embryos

2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 3967-3975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Brust-Mascher ◽  
Jonathan M. Scholey
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindles ◽  
Pole Motion ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Balance Of Forces ◽  
Anaphase B

We proposed that spindle morphogenesis in Drosophilaembryos involves progression through four transient isometric structures in which a constant spacing of the spindle poles is maintained by a balance of forces generated by multiple microtubule (MT) motors and that tipping this balance drives pole-pole separation. Here we used fluorescent speckle microscopy to evaluate the influence of MT dynamics on the isometric state that persists through metaphase and anaphase A and on pole-pole separation in anaphase B. During metaphase and anaphase A, fluorescent punctae on kinetochore and interpolar MTs flux toward the poles at 0.03 μm/s, too slow to drive chromatid-to-pole motion at 0.11 μm/s, and during anaphase B, fluorescent punctae on interpolar MTs move away from the spindle equator at the same rate as the poles, consistent with MT-MT sliding. Loss of Ncd, a candidate flux motor or brake, did not affect flux in the metaphase/anaphase A isometric state or MT sliding in anaphase B but decreased the duration of the isometric state. Our results suggest that, throughout this isometric state, an outward force exerted on the spindle poles by MT sliding motors is balanced by flux, and that suppression of flux could tip the balance of forces at the onset of anaphase B, allowing MT sliding and polymerization to push the poles apart.

scholarly journals Organization of the flagellar apparatus and associate cytoplasmic microtubules in the quadriflagellate alga Polytomella agilis.

1976 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
D L Brown ◽  
A Massalski ◽  
R Patenaude
Keyword(s):  
Anterior Part ◽  
Flagellar Apparatus ◽  
Microtubule Assembly ◽  
Immunofluorescent Staining ◽  
Body Region ◽  
Basal Bodies ◽  
Cytoplasmic Microtubule ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Attachment Sites ◽  
Cytoplasmic Microtubules

The organization of microtubular systems in the quadriflagellate unicell Polytomella agilis has been reconstructed by electron microscopy of serial sections, and the overall arrangement confirmed by immunofluorescent staining using antiserum directed against chick brain tubulin. The basal bodies of the four flagella are shown to be linked in two pairs of short fibers. Light microscopy of swimming cells indicates that the flagella beat in two synchronous pairs, with each pair exhibiting a breast-stroke-like motion. Two structurally distinct flagellar rootlets, one consisting of four microtubules in a 3 over 1 pattern and the other of a striated fiber over two microtubules, terminate between adjacent basal bodies. These rootlets diverge from the basal body region and extend toward the cell posterior, passing just beneath the plasma membrane. Near the anterior part of the cell, all eight rootlets serve as attachment sites for large numbers of cytoplasmic microtubules which occur in a single row around the circumference of the cell and closely parallel the cell shape. It is suggested that the flagellar rootless may function in controlling the patterning and the direction of cytoplasmic microtubule assembly. The occurrence of similar rootlet structures in other flagellates is briefly reviewed.

scholarly journals Interaction between Poly(ADP-ribose) and NuMA Contributes to Mitotic Spindle Pole Assembly

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (21) ◽  
pp. 4575-4585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Chang ◽  
Margaret Coughlin ◽  
Timothy J. Mitchison
Keyword(s):  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Magnetic Beads ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Covalent Modification ◽  
Mitotic Spindles ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Tankyrase 1 ◽  
Mitotic Spindle Pole

Poly(ADP-ribose) (pADPr), made by PARP-5a/tankyrase-1, localizes to the poles of mitotic spindles and is required for bipolar spindle assembly, but its molecular function in the spindle is poorly understood. To investigate this, we localized pADPr at spindle poles by immuno-EM. We then developed a concentrated mitotic lysate system from HeLa cells to probe spindle pole assembly in vitro. Microtubule asters assembled in response to centrosomes and Ran-GTP in this system. Magnetic beads coated with pADPr, extended from PARP-5a, also triggered aster assembly, suggesting a functional role of the pADPr in spindle pole assembly. We found that PARP-5a is much more active in mitosis than interphase. We used mitotic PARP-5a, self-modified with pADPr chains, to capture mitosis-specific pADPr-binding proteins. Candidate binding proteins included the spindle pole protein NuMA previously shown to bind to PARP-5a directly. The rod domain of NuMA, expressed in bacteria, bound directly to pADPr. We propose that pADPr provides a dynamic cross-linking function at spindle poles by extending from covalent modification sites on PARP-5a and NuMA and binding noncovalently to NuMA and that this function helps promote assembly of exactly two poles.

scholarly journals Spindle-to-cortex communication in cleaving, polyspermic Xenopus eggs

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (20) ◽  
pp. 3628-3640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M. Field ◽  
Aaron C. Groen ◽  
Phuong A. Nguyen ◽  
Timothy J. Mitchison
Keyword(s):  
Positive Feedback ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Cell Cortex ◽  
Lateral Growth ◽  
Mitotic Spindles ◽  
Microtubule Stabilization ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Early Embryos ◽  
Position And Orientation ◽  
Chromosome Passenger Complex

Mitotic spindles specify cleavage planes in early embryos by communicating their position and orientation to the cell cortex using microtubule asters that grow out from the spindle poles during anaphase. Chromatin also plays a poorly understood role. Polyspermic fertilization provides a natural experiment in which aster pairs from the same spindle (sister asters) have chromatin between them, whereas asters pairs from different spindles (nonsisters) do not. In frogs, only sister aster pairs induce furrows. We found that only sister asters recruited two conserved furrow-inducing signaling complexes, chromosome passenger complex (CPC) and Centralspindlin, to a plane between them. This explains why only sister pairs induce furrows. We then investigated factors that influenced CPC recruitment to microtubule bundles in intact eggs and a cytokinesis extract system. We found that microtubule stabilization, optimal starting distance between asters, and proximity to chromatin all favored CPC recruitment. We propose a model in which proximity to chromatin biases initial CPC recruitment to microtubule bundles between asters from the same spindle. Next a positive feedback between CPC recruitment and microtubule stabilization promotes lateral growth of a plane of CPC-positive microtubule bundles out to the cortex to position the furrow.

Parthenogenesis and cytoskeletal organization in ageing mouse eggs

Development ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-145
Author(s):  
Michelle Webb ◽  
Sarah K. Howlett ◽  
Bernard Maro
Keyword(s):  
Critical Concentration ◽  
Metaphase Plate ◽  
Meiotic Spindle ◽  
Cytoskeletal Organization ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Mouse Egg ◽  
Parthenogenetic Embryos

The cytoskeletal organization of the mouse egg changes during ageing in vivo and in vitro. The earliest change observed is the disappearance of the microfilament-rich area overlying the meiotic spindle. This is followed by the migration of the spindle towards the centre of the egg. Finally the spindle breaks down and the chromosomes are no longer organized on a metaphase plate. This spindle disruption may result from changes in the microtubule nucleating material found at the spindle poles and from an increase in the critical concentration for tubulin polymerization. It is possible to correlate the changes in the cytoskeletal organization of the egg occurring during ageing with the different types of parthenogenetic embryos obtained after ethanol activation. These observations strengthen the hypothesis that the actin-rich cortical area that overlies the meiotic spindle forms a domain to which the meiotic cleavage furrow is restricted and provides some insights into the mechanisms by which different types of parthenogenetic embryos are generated.

scholarly journals Dissociation of the Tubulin-sequestering and Microtubule Catastrophe-promoting Activities of Oncoprotein 18/Stathmin

1999 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonnie Howell ◽  
Niklas Larsson ◽  
Martin Gullberg ◽  
Lynne Cassimeris
Keyword(s):  
Tight Binding ◽  
Terminal Region ◽  
Microtubule Assembly ◽  
Gtp Hydrolysis ◽  
Truncated Protein ◽  
C Terminus ◽  
Dependent Change ◽  
Tubulin Subunit ◽  
Oncoprotein 18

Oncoprotein 18/stathmin (Op18) has been identified recently as a protein that destabilizes microtubules, but the mechanism of destabilization is currently controversial. Based on in vitro microtubule assembly assays, evidence has been presented supporting conflicting destabilization models of either tubulin sequestration or promotion of microtubule catastrophes. We found that Op18 can destabilize microtubules by both of these mechanisms and that these activities can be dissociated by changing pH. At pH 6.8, Op18 slowed microtubule elongation and increased catastrophes at both plus and minus ends, consistent with a tubulin-sequestering activity. In contrast, at pH 7.5, Op18 promoted microtubule catastrophes, particularly at plus ends, with little effect on elongation rates at either microtubule end. Dissociation of tubulin-sequestering and catastrophe-promoting activities of Op18 was further demonstrated by analysis of truncated Op18 derivatives. Lack of a C-terminal region of Op18 (aa 100–147) resulted in a truncated protein that lost sequestering activity at pH 6.8 but retained catastrophe-promoting activity. In contrast, lack of an N-terminal region of Op18 (aa 5–25) resulted in a truncated protein that still sequestered tubulin at pH 6.8 but was unable to promote catastrophes at pH 7.5. At pH 6.8, both the full length and the N-terminal–truncated Op18 bound tubulin, whereas truncation at the C-terminus resulted in a pronounced decrease in tubulin binding. Based on these results, and a previous study documenting a pH-dependent change in binding affinity between Op18 and tubulin, it is likely that tubulin sequestering observed at lower pH resulted from the relatively tight interaction between Op18 and tubulin and that this tight binding requires the C-terminus of Op18; however, under conditions in which Op18 binds weakly to tubulin (pH 7.5), Op18 stimulated catastrophes without altering tubulin subunit association or dissociation rates, and Op18 did not depolymerize microtubules capped with guanylyl (α, β)-methylene diphosphonate–tubulin subunits. We hypothesize that weak binding between Op18 and tubulin results in free Op18, which is available to interact with microtubule ends and thereby promote catastrophes by a mechanism that likely involves GTP hydrolysis.

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