scholarly journals A role for a novel centrosome cycle in asymmetric cell division

2007 ◽  
Vol 177 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasser M. Rusan ◽  
Mark Peifer

Tissue stem cells play a key role in tissue maintenance. Drosophila melanogaster central brain neuroblasts are excellent models for stem cell asymmetric division. Earlier work showed that their mitotic spindle orientation is established before spindle formation. We investigated the mechanism by which this occurs, revealing a novel centrosome cycle. In interphase, the two centrioles separate, but only one is active, retaining pericentriolar material and forming a “dominant centrosome.” This centrosome acts as a microtubule organizing center (MTOC) and remains stationary, forming one pole of the future spindle. The second centriole is inactive and moves to the opposite side of the cell before being activated as a centrosome/MTOC. This is accompanied by asymmetric localization of Polo kinase, a key centrosome regulator. Disruption of centrosomes disrupts the high fidelity of asymmetric division. We propose a two-step mechanism to ensure faithful spindle positioning: the novel centrosome cycle produces a single interphase MTOC, coarsely aligning the spindle, and spindle–cortex interactions refine this alignment.

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérémy Magescas ◽  
Jenny C Zonka ◽  
Jessica L Feldman

The centrosome acts as a microtubule organizing center (MTOC), orchestrating microtubules into the mitotic spindle through its pericentriolar material (PCM). This activity is biphasic, cycling through assembly and disassembly during the cell cycle. Although hyperactive centrosomal MTOC activity is a hallmark of some cancers, little is known about how the centrosome is inactivated as an MTOC. Analysis of endogenous PCM proteins in C. elegans revealed that the PCM is composed of partially overlapping territories organized into an inner and outer sphere that are removed from the centrosome at different rates and using different behaviors. We found that phosphatases oppose the addition of PCM by mitotic kinases, ultimately catalyzing the dissolution of inner sphere PCM proteins at the end of mitosis. The nature of the PCM appears to change such that the remaining aging PCM outer sphere is mechanically ruptured by cortical pulling forces, ultimately inactivating MTOC function at the centrosome.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérémy Magescas ◽  
Jennifer C. Zonka ◽  
Jessica L. Feldman

SummaryDuring mitosis, the centrosome acts as a microtubule organizing center (MTOC), orchestrating microtubules into the mitotic spindle through its pericentriolar material (PCM). This activity is biphasic, cycling through assembly and disassembly during the cell cycle. Although hyperactive centrosomal MTOC activity is a hallmark of some cancers, little is known about how the centrosome is inactivated as an MTOC. Analysis of endogenous PCM proteins in C. elegans revealed that the PCM is composed of distinct protein territories that are removed from the centrosome at different rates and using different behaviors. Inhibition of PP2A phosphatases stabilized the PCM and perturbation of cortical pulling forces altered the timing and behavior by which proteins were removed from the centrosome. These data indicate that PCM disassembly is a two-step process, beginning with a phosphatase-dependent dissolution of PCM proteins followed by the ejection of ruptured PCM by cortical forces, ultimately inactivating MTOC function at the centrosome.


2002 ◽  
Vol 115 (9) ◽  
pp. 1825-1835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young Y. Ou ◽  
Gary J. Mack ◽  
Meifeng Zhang ◽  
Jerome B. Rattner

The mammalian centrosome consists of a pair of centrioles surrounded by pericentriolar material (PCM). The architecture and composition of the centrosome, especially the PCM, changes during the cell cycle. Recently, a subset of PCM proteins have been shown to be arranged in a tubular conformation with an open and a closed end within the centrosome. The presence of such a specific configuration can be used as a landmark for mapping proteins in both a spatial and a temporal fashion. Such mapping studies can provide information about centrosome organization, protein dynamics,protein-protein interactions as well as protein function. In this study, the centrosomal proteins CEP110 and ninein were mapped in relationship to the tubular configuration. Both proteins were found to exhibit a similar distribution pattern. In the mother centrosome, they were found at both ends of the centrosome tube, including the site of centrosome duplication. However,in the daughter centrosome they were present only at the closed end. At the closed end of the mother and daughter centrosome tube, both CEP110 and ninein co-localized with the centriolar protein CEP250/c-Nap1, which confirms ninein's centriole association and places CEP110 in association with this structure. Importantly, the appearance of CEP110 and ninein at the open end of the daughter centrosome occurred during the telophase-G1 transition of the next cell cycle, concomitant with the maturation of the daughter centrosome into a mother centrosome. Microinjection of antibodies against either CEP110 or ninein into metaphase HeLa cells disrupted the reformation of the tubular conformation of proteins within the centrosome following cell division and consequently led to dispersal of centrosomal material throughout the cytosol. Further, microinjection of antibodies to either CEP110 or ninein into metaphase PtK2 cells not only disrupted the tubular configuration within the centrosome but also affected the centrosome's ability to function as a microtubule organizing center (MTOC). This MTOC function was also disrupted when the antibodies were injected into postmitotic cells. Taken together, our results indicate that: (1) a population of CEP110 and ninein is located in a specific domain within the centrosome, which corresponds to the open end of the centrosome tube and is the site of protein addition associated with maturation of a daughter centrosome into a mother centrosome; and (2) the addition of CEP110 and ninein are essential for the reformation of specific aspects of the interphase centrosome architecture following mitosis as well as being required for the centrosome to function as a MTOC.


2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (22) ◽  
pp. 3942-3951 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Korzeniewski ◽  
Rolando Cuevas ◽  
Anette Duensing ◽  
Stefan Duensing

The centrosome is the major microtubule-organizing center of most mammalian cells and consists of a pair of centrioles embedded in pericentriolar material. Before mitosis, the two centrioles duplicate and two new daughter centrioles form adjacent to each preexisting maternal centriole. After initiation of daughter centriole synthesis, the procentrioles elongate in a process that is poorly understood. Here, we show that inhibition of cellular proteolysis by Z-L3VS or MG132 induces abnormal elongation of daughter centrioles to approximately 4 times their normal length. This activity of Z-L3VS or MG132 was found to correlate with inhibition of intracellular protease-mediated substrate cleavage. Using a small interfering RNA screen, we identified a total of nine gene products that either attenuated (seven) or promoted (two) abnormal Z-L3VS–induced daughter centriole elongation. Our hits included known regulators of centriole length, including CPAP and CP110, but, interestingly, several proteins involved in microtubule stability and anchoring as well as centrosome cohesion. This suggests that nonproteasomal functions, specifically inhibition of cellular proteases, may play an important and underappreciated role in the regulation of centriole elongation. They also highlight the complexity of daughter centriole length control and provide a framework for future studies to dissect the molecular details of this process.


1994 ◽  
Vol 107 (2) ◽  
pp. 601-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.E. Dominguez ◽  
B. Buendia ◽  
C. Lopez-Otin ◽  
C. Antony ◽  
E. Karsenti ◽  
...  

The centrosome is the main microtubule organizing center of mammalian cells. Structurally, it is composed of a pair of centrioles surrounded by a fibro-granular material (the pericentriolar material) from which microtubules are nucleated. However, the nature of centrosomal molecules involved in microtubules nucleation is still obscure. Since brain microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) lower the critical tubulin concentration required for microtubule nucleation in tubulin solution in vitro, we have examined their possible association with centrosomes. By immunofluorescence, monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies raised against MAP1B stain the centrosome in cultured cells as well as purified centrosomes, whereas antibodies raised against MAP2 give a completely negative reaction. The MAP1B-related antigen is localized to the pericentriolar material as revealed by immunoelectron microscopy. In preparations of purified centrosomes analyzed on poly-acrylamide gels, a protein that migrates as brain MAP1B is present. After blotting on nitrocellulose, it is decorated by anti-MAP1B antibodies and the amino acid sequence of proteolytic fragments of this protein is similar to brain MAP1B. Moreover, brain MAP1B and its centrosomal counterpart share the same phosphorylation features and have similar peptide maps. These data strongly suggest that a protein homologue to MAP1B is present in centrosomes and it is a good candidate for being involved in the nucleating activity of the pericentriolar material.


2021 ◽  
Vol 104 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saptarshi Chatterjee ◽  
Subhendu Som ◽  
Neha Varshney ◽  
PVS Satyadev ◽  
Kaustuv Sanyal ◽  
...  

Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joukov ◽  
De Nicolo

Centrosomes and primary cilia are usually considered as distinct organelles, although both are assembled with the same evolutionary conserved, microtubule-based templates, the centrioles. Centrosomes serve as major microtubule- and actin cytoskeleton-organizing centers and are involved in a variety of intracellular processes, whereas primary cilia receive and transduce environmental signals to elicit cellular and organismal responses. Understanding the functional relationship between centrosomes and primary cilia is important because defects in both structures have been implicated in various diseases, including cancer. Here, we discuss evidence that the animal centrosome evolved, with the transition to complex multicellularity, as a hybrid organelle comprised of the two distinct, but intertwined, structural-functional modules: the centriole/primary cilium module and the pericentriolar material/centrosome module. The evolution of the former module may have been caused by the expanding cellular diversification and intercommunication, whereas that of the latter module may have been driven by the increasing complexity of mitosis and the requirement for maintaining cell polarity, individuation, and adhesion. Through its unique ability to serve both as a plasma membrane-associated primary cilium organizer and a juxtanuclear microtubule-organizing center, the animal centrosome has become an ideal integrator of extracellular and intracellular signals with the cytoskeleton and a switch between the non-cell autonomous and the cell-autonomous signaling modes. In light of this hypothesis, we discuss centrosome dynamics during cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation and propose a model of centrosome-driven microtubule assembly in mitotic and interphase cells. In addition, we outline the evolutionary benefits of the animal centrosome and highlight the hierarchy and modularity of the centrosome biogenesis networks.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document