scholarly journals The Microtubule-destabilizing Kinesin XKCM1 Regulates Microtubule Dynamic Instability in Cells

2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 2718-2731 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan L. Kline-Smith ◽  
Claire E. Walczak
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Dynamic Instability ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Related Protein ◽  
Microtubule Dynamic ◽  
Mitotic Delay ◽  
Egg Extracts ◽  
Xenopus Egg ◽  
Xenopus Egg Extracts

The dynamic activities of cellular microtubules (MTs) are tightly regulated by a balance between MT-stabilizing and -destabilizing proteins. Studies in Xenopus egg extracts have shown that the major MT destabilizer during interphase and mitosis is the kinesin-related protein XKCM1, which depolymerizes MT ends in an ATP-dependent manner. Herein, we examine the effects of both overexpression and inhibition of XKCM1 on the regulation of MT dynamics in vertebrate somatic cells. We found that XKCM1 is a MT-destabilizing enzyme in PtK2 cells and that XKCM1 modulates cellular MT dynamics. Our results indicate that perturbation of XKCM1 levels alters the catastrophe frequency and the rescue frequency of cellular MTs. In addition, we found that overexpression of XKCM1 or inhibition of KCM1 during mitosis leads to the formation of aberrant spindles and a mitotic delay. The predominant spindle defects from excess XKCM1 included monoastral and monopolar spindles, as well as small prometaphase-like spindles with improper chromosomal attachments. Inhibition of KCM1 during mitosis led to prometaphase spindles with excessively long MTs and spindles with partially separated poles and a radial MT array. These results show that KCM1 plays a critical role in regulating both interphase and mitotic MT dynamics in mammalian cells.

scholarly journals Structural Transitions at Microtubule Ends Correlate with Their Dynamic Properties in Xenopus Egg Extracts

2000 ◽  
Vol 149 (4) ◽  
pp. 767-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Arnal ◽  
Eric Karsenti ◽  
Anthony A. Hyman
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Instability ◽  
Dynamic Properties ◽  
Microtubule Assembly ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Egg Extracts ◽  
Xenopus Egg ◽  
Xenopus Egg Extracts ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Dynamic Populations

Microtubules are dynamically unstable polymers that interconvert stochastically between growing and shrinking states by the addition and loss of subunits from their ends. However, there is little experimental data on the relationship between microtubule end structure and the regulation of dynamic instability. To investigate this relationship, we have modulated dynamic instability in Xenopus egg extracts by adding a catastrophe-promoting factor, Op18/stathmin. Using electron cryomicroscopy, we find that microtubules in cytoplasmic extracts grow by the extension of a two- dimensional sheet of protofilaments, which later closes into a tube. Increasing the catastrophe frequency by the addition of Op18/stathmin decreases both the length and frequency of the occurrence of sheets and increases the number of frayed ends. Interestingly, we also find that more dynamic populations contain more blunt ends, suggesting that these are a metastable intermediate between shrinking and growing microtubules. Our results demonstrate for the first time that microtubule assembly in physiological conditions is a two-dimensional process, and they suggest that the two-dimensional sheets stabilize microtubules against catastrophes. We present a model in which the frequency of catastrophes is directly correlated with the structural state of microtubule ends.

3 NUCLEAR REPROGRAMMING OF PORCINE FIBROBLAST CELLS BY XENOPUS EGG EXTRACTS

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 110 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Miyamoto ◽  
Y. Nagao ◽  
N. Minami ◽  
M. Yamada ◽  
K. Ohsumi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Marker Gene ◽  
Calcium Ionophore ◽  
Pcr Analysis ◽  
Ionophore A23187 ◽  
Fibroblast Cells ◽  
Nuclear Reprogramming ◽  
Egg Extracts ◽  
Xenopus Egg ◽  
Xenopus Egg Extracts

Much evidence indicates that somatic cells can be reprogrammed in an oocyte cytoplasm. The nuclear reprogramming consists of many unknown processes, and mechanisms underlying these processes still remain to be elucidated. Recently some reports noted that Xenopus oocytes or eggs can induce some of the reprogramming events in mammalian cells. We investigated the processes of nuclear reprogramming of porcine fibroblast cells by Xenopus egg extracts to understand how egg extracts trigger the reprogramming and/or dedifferentiation of cells. Unfertilized Xenopus eggs were collected from mature females. After removal of the jelly coat, activation was routinely achieved by calcium ionophore A23187. The eggs were immediately centrifuged and the cytoplasmic fraction was used as egg extracts. Porcine fibroblast cells were permeabilized by streptolysin O and incubated in the egg extracts under the ATP-generating system (1 mM ATP, 5 mM phosphocreatine, and 20 U/mL creatine kinase) for 30 min at 37�C or 2 h at 23�C. The incorporation of Xenopus-specific linker histone B4 into porcine fibroblasts was examined by immunofluorescence and immunobloting analysis. After collection of cells from the extracts, permeabilized membranes of the cells were resealed in culture medium containing 2 mM CaCl2 for 2 h. The cells were then incubated in DMEM with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) or porcine zygote medium-3 (PZM-3: Yoshioka et al. 2002 Biol. Reprod. 66, 112-119) containing 5.55 mM glucose and 5% FBS. RNAs were extracted from the cells in each culture dish and Oct-4 expression was examined by RT-PCR analysis every day until Day 8. The primers were designed to span the 99 base-pair intron region of porcine Oct-4 gene for recognizing both spliced and unspliced transcripts. The incorporation of histone B4 from Xenopus egg extracts was observed at the nuclear region of the porcine fibroblasts under both the 37�C and the 23�C conditions. Because the histone B4 incorporation was inhibited by addition of Apyrase, an ATPase, a part of reprogramming might be an ATP-dependent process. When treated cells were incubated in DMEM or PZM-3, Oct-4 expression was detected in the cells cultured in DMEM, but not in PZM-3. However, the transcripts of Oct-4 were mainly obtained in unspliced form at the earlier stage of culture (after Day 1 to Day 4 of culture), suggesting that a part of reprogramming processes by the egg extracts involves induction of dedifferention of cells or activation of a pluripotent marker gene such as Oct-4. Xenopus egg extract may provide a system to investigate the processes involving nuclear reprogramming and the pluripotent state of mammalian cells in vitro.

scholarly journals Head and/or CaaX Domain Deletions of Lamin Proteins Disrupt Preformed Lamin A and C But Not Lamin B Structure in Mammalian Cells

2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 4323-4337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masako Izumi ◽  
O. Anthony Vaughan ◽  
Christopher J. Hutchison ◽  
David M. Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells ◽  
Chinese Hamster ◽  
Soluble Form ◽  
Lamin A ◽  
Lamin B1 ◽  
Head Domain ◽  
Egg Extracts ◽  
Xenopus Egg ◽  
Xenopus Egg Extracts

The nuclear lamina is an important determinant of nuclear architecture. Mutations in A-type but not B-type lamins cause a range of human genetic disorders, including muscular dystrophy. Dominant mutations in nuclear lamin proteins have been shown to disrupt a preformed lamina structure in Xenopus egg extracts. Here, a series of deletion mutations in lamins A and B1 were evaluated for their ability to disrupt lamina structure in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Deletions of either the lamin A “head” domain or the C-terminal CaaX domain formed intranuclear aggregates and resulted in the disruption of endogenous lamins A/C but not lamins B1/B2. By contrast, “head-less” lamin B1 localized to the nuclear rim with no detectable effect on endogenous lamins, whereas lamin B1 CaaX domain deletions formed intranuclear aggregates, disrupting endogenous lamins A/C but not lamins B1/B2. Filter binding assays revealed that a head/CaaX domain lamin B1 mutant interacted much more strongly with lamins A/C than with lamins B1/B2. Regulated induction of this mutant in stable cell lines resulted in the rapid elimination of all detectable lamin A protein, whereas lamin C was trapped in a soluble form within the intranuclear aggregates. In contrast to results in Xenopus egg extracts, dominant negative lamin B1 (but not lamin A) mutants trapped replication proteins involved in both the initiation and elongation phases of replication but did not effect cellular growth rates or the assembly of active replication centers. We conclude that elimination of the CaaX domain in lamin B1 and elimination of either the CaaX or head domain in lamin A constitute dominant mutations that can disrupt A-type but not B-type lamins, highlighting important differences in the way that A- and B-type lamins are integrated into the lamina.

scholarly journals The Nup107-160 Nucleoporin Complex Is Required for Correct Bipolar Spindle Assembly

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 3806-3818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arturo V. Orjalo ◽  
Alexei Arnaoutov ◽  
Zhouxin Shen ◽  
Yekaterina Boyarchuk ◽  
Samantha G. Zeitlin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Spindle Checkpoint ◽  
Spindle Assembly ◽  
Sperm Chromatin ◽  
Nuclear Pore ◽  
Checkpoint Proteins ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Egg Extracts ◽  
Xenopus Egg ◽  
Xenopus Egg Extracts

The Nup107-160 complex is a critical subunit of the nuclear pore. This complex localizes to kinetochores in mitotic mammalian cells, where its function is unknown. To examine Nup107-160 complex recruitment to kinetochores, we stained human cells with antisera to four complex components. Each antibody stained not only kinetochores but also prometaphase spindle poles and proximal spindle fibers, mirroring the dual prometaphase localization of the spindle checkpoint proteins Mad1, Mad2, Bub3, and Cdc20. Indeed, expanded crescents of the Nup107-160 complex encircled unattached kinetochores, similar to the hyperaccumulation observed of dynamic outer kinetochore checkpoint proteins and motors at unattached kinetochores. In mitotic Xenopus egg extracts, the Nup107-160 complex localized throughout reconstituted spindles. When the Nup107-160 complex was depleted from extracts, the spindle checkpoint remained intact, but spindle assembly was rendered strikingly defective. Microtubule nucleation around sperm centrosomes seemed normal, but the microtubules quickly disassembled, leaving largely unattached sperm chromatin. Notably, Ran-GTP caused normal assembly of microtubule asters in depleted extracts, indicating that this defect was upstream of Ran or independent of it. We conclude that the Nup107-160 complex is dynamic in mitosis and that it promotes spindle assembly in a manner that is distinct from its functions at interphase nuclear pores.

scholarly journals Rad17 Plays a Central Role in Establishment of the Interaction between TopBP1 and the Rad9-Hus1-Rad1 Complex at Stalled Replication Forks

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 926-935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joon Lee ◽  
William G. Dunphy
Keyword(s):  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Replication Forks ◽  
Egg Extracts ◽  
Xenopus Egg ◽  
Xenopus Egg Extracts ◽  
Stalled Replication Forks ◽  
Hydrolysis Of

Rad17 is critical for the ATR-dependent activation of Chk1 during checkpoint responses. It is known that Rad17 loads the Rad9-Hus1-Rad1 (9-1-1) complex onto DNA. We show that Rad17 also mediates the interaction of 9-1-1 with the ATR-activating protein TopBP1 in Xenopus egg extracts. Studies with Rad17 mutants indicate that binding of ATP to Rad17 is essential for the association of 9-1-1 and TopBP1. Furthermore, hydrolysis of ATP by Rad17 is necessary for the loading of 9-1-1 onto DNA and the elevated, checkpoint-dependent accumulation of TopBP1 on chromatin. Significantly, a mutant 9-1-1 complex that cannot bind TopBP1 has a normal capacity to promote elevated accumulation of TopBP1 on chromatin. Taken together, we propose the following mechanism. First, Rad17 loads 9-1-1 onto DNA. Second, TopBP1 accumulates on chromatin in a manner that depends on both Rad17 and 9-1-1. Finally, 9-1-1 and TopBP1 dock in a Rad17-dependent manner before activation of Chk1.

scholarly journals Kinesin Kif2C in regulation of DNA double strand break dynamics and repair

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Songli Zhu ◽  
Mohammadjavad Paydar ◽  
Feifei Wang ◽  
Yanqiu Li ◽  
Ling Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Damage ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Strand Break ◽  
Dna Double Strand Breaks ◽  
Dsb Repair ◽  
Strand Breaks ◽  
Dna Double Strand Break ◽  
Egg Extracts ◽  
Xenopus Egg ◽  
Xenopus Egg Extracts

DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) have detrimental effects on cell survival and genomic stability, and are related to cancer and other human diseases. In this study, we identified microtubule-depolymerizing kinesin Kif2C as a protein associated with DSB-mimicking DNA templates and known DSB repair proteins in Xenopus egg extracts and mammalian cells. The recruitment of Kif2C to DNA damage sites was dependent on both PARP and ATM activities. Kif2C knockdown or knockout led to accumulation of endogenous DNA damage, DNA damage hypersensitivity, and reduced DSB repair via both NHEJ and HR. Interestingly, Kif2C depletion, or inhibition of its microtubule depolymerase activity, reduced the mobility of DSBs, impaired the formation of DNA damage foci, and decreased the occurrence of foci fusion and resolution. Taken together, our study established Kif2C as a new player of the DNA damage response, and presented a new mechanism that governs DSB dynamics and repair.

scholarly journals Membrane/microtubule tip attachment complexes (TACs) allow the assembly dynamics of plus ends to push and pull membranes into tubulovesicular networks in interphase Xenopus egg extracts.

1995 ◽  
Vol 130 (5) ◽  
pp. 1161-1169 ◽  
Author(s):  
C M Waterman-Storer ◽  
J Gregory ◽  
S F Parsons ◽  
E D Salmon
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Instability ◽  
Atp Depletion ◽  
Immunofluorescent Staining ◽  
Egg Extracts ◽  
Microtubule Motor ◽  
Xenopus Egg ◽  
Membrane Tubules ◽  
Membrane Networks ◽  
Xenopus Egg Extracts ◽  
Push And Pull

We discovered by using high resolution video microscopy, that membranes become attached selectively to the growing plus ends of microtubules by membrane/microtubule tip attachment complexes (TACs) in interphase-arrested, undiluted, Xenopus egg extracts. Persistent plus end growth of stationary microtubules pushed the membranes into thin tubules and dragged them through the cytoplasm at the approximately 20 microns/min velocity typical of free plus ends. Membrane tubules also remained attached to plus ends when they switched to the shortening phase of dynamic instability at velocities typical of free ends, 50-60 microns/min. Over time, the membrane tubules contacted and fused with one another along their lengths, forming a polygonal network much like the distribution of ER in cells. Several components of the membrane networks formed by TACs were identified as ER by immunofluorescent staining using antibodies to ER-resident proteins. TAC motility was not inhibited by known inhibitors of microtubule motor activity, including 5 mM AMP-PNP, 250 microM orthovanadate, and ATP depletion. These results show that membrane/microtubule TACs enable polymerizing ends to push and depolymerizing ends to pull membranes into thin tubular extensions and networks at fast velocities.

scholarly journals MTBP, the partner of Treslin, contains a novel DNA-binding domain that is essential for proper initiation of DNA replication

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (22) ◽  
pp. 2998-3012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akiko Kumagai ◽  
William G. Dunphy
Keyword(s):  
Dna Replication ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Replicative Helicase ◽  
Double Stranded Dna ◽  
G4 Dna ◽  
G Quadruplex ◽  
Egg Extracts ◽  
Xenopus Egg ◽  
Initiation Of Dna Replication ◽  
Xenopus Egg Extracts

Treslin, which is essential for incorporation of Cdc45 into the replicative helicase, possesses a partner called MTBP (Mdm2-binding protein). We have analyzed Xenopus and human MTBP to assess its role in DNA replication. Depletion of MTBP from Xenopus egg extracts, which also removes Treslin, abolishes DNA replication. These extracts be can rescued with recombinant Treslin-MTBP but not Treslin or MTBP alone. Thus, Treslin-MTBP is collectively necessary for replication. We have identified a C-terminal region of MTBP (the CTM domain) that binds efficiently to both double-stranded DNA and G-quadruplex (G4) DNA. This domain also exhibits homology with budding yeast Sld7. Mutants of MTBP without a functional CTM domain are defective for DNA replication in Xenopus egg extracts. These mutants display an impaired localization to chromatin and the inability to support loading of Cdc45. Human cells harboring such a mutant also display severe S-phase defects. Thus, the CTM domain of MTBP plays a critical role in localizing Treslin-MTBP to the replication apparatus for initiation.

scholarly journals A Biochemical Screen for Identification of Small-Molecule Regulators of the Wnt Pathway Using Xenopus Egg Extracts

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 995-1006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Curtis A. Thorne ◽  
Bonnie Lafleur ◽  
Michelle Lewis ◽  
Alison J. Hanson ◽  
Kristin K. Jernigan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Wnt Pathway ◽  
Renilla Luciferase ◽  
Signal Distribution ◽  
Egg Extracts ◽  
Bona Fide ◽  
Xenopus Egg ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Xenopus Egg Extracts

Misregulation of the Wnt pathway has been shown to be responsible for a variety of human diseases, most notably cancers. Screens for inhibitors of this pathway have been performed almost exclusively using cultured mammalian cells or with purified proteins. We have previously developed a biochemical assay using Xenopus egg extracts to recapitulate key cytoplasmic events in the Wnt pathway. Using this biochemical system, we show that a recombinant form of the Wnt coreceptor, LRP6, regulates the stability of two key components of the Wnt pathway (β-catenin and Axin) in opposing fashion. We have now fused β-catenin and Axin to firefly and Renilla luciferase, respectively, and demonstrate that the fusion proteins behave similarly as their wild-type counterparts. Using this dual luciferase readout, we adapted the Xenopus extracts system for high-throughput screening. Results from these screens demonstrate signal distribution curves that reflect the complexity of the library screened. Of several compounds identified as cytoplasmic modulators of the Wnt pathway, one was further validated as a bona fide inhibitor of the Wnt pathway in cultured mammalian cells and Xenopus embryos. We show that other embryonic pathways may be amendable to screening for inhibitors/modulators in Xenopus egg extracts.

scholarly journals A Novel Role for Cdk1/Cyclin B in Regulating B-Raf Activation at Mitosis

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 2907-2915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergiy I. Borysov ◽  
Thomas M. Guadagno
Keyword(s):  
Mapk Cascade ◽  
Cyclin B ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Mapk Activity ◽  
M Phase ◽  
Egg Extracts ◽  
Xenopus Egg ◽  
Subsequent Activation ◽  
Xenopus Egg Extracts

MAPK activity is important during mitosis for spindle assembly and maintenance of the spindle checkpoint arrest. We previously identified B-Raf as a critical activator of the MAPK cascade during mitosis in Xenopus egg extracts and showed that B-Raf activation is regulated in an M-phase–dependent manner. The mechanism that mediates B-Raf activation at mitosis has not been elucidated. Interestingly, activation of 95-kDa B-Raf at mitosis does not require phosphorylation of Thr-599 and Ser-602 residues (Thr-633 and Ser-636 in Xenopus B-Raf), previously shown to be essential for B-Raf activation by Ras. Instead, we provide evidence for Cdk1/cyclin B in mediating mitotic activation of B-Raf. In particular, Cdk1/cyclin B complexes associate with B-Raf at mitosis in Xenopus egg extracts and contribute to its phosphorylation. Mutagenesis and in vitro kinase assays demonstrated that Cdk1/cyclin B directly phosphorylates B-Raf at Serine-144, which is part of a conserved Cdk1 preferential consensus site (S144PQK). Importantly, phosphorylation of Ser-144 is absolutely required for mitotic activation of B-Raf and subsequent activation of the MAPK cascade. However, substitution of a phospho-mimicking amino acid at Ser-144 failed to produce a constitutive active B-Raf indicating that, in addition of Ser-144 phosphorylation, other regulatory events may be needed to activate B-Raf at mitosis. Taken together, our data reveal a novel cell cycle mechanism for activating the B-Raf/MEK/MAPK cascade.

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