scholarly journals K-fiber bundles in the mitotic spindle are mechanically reinforced by Kif15

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus A Begley ◽  
April L Solon ◽  
Elizabeth Mae Davis ◽  
Michael Grant Sherrill ◽  
Ryoma Ohi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Binding Ability ◽  
Microtubule Binding ◽  
Mechanical Integrity ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Rigor State ◽  
Physical Response

The mitotic spindle, a self-constructed microtubule-based machine, segregates chromosomes during cell division. In mammalian cells, microtubule bundles called kinetochore-fibers (k-fibers) connect chromosomes to the spindle poles. Chromosome segregation thus depends on the mechanical integrity of k-fibers. Here, we investigate the physical and molecular basis of k-fiber bundle cohesion. We detach k-fibers from poles by laser ablation-based cutting, thus revealing the contribution of pole-localized forces to k-fiber cohesion. We then measure the physical response of the remaining kinetochore-bound segments of the k-fibers. We observe that microtubules within ablated k-fibers often splay apart from their minus-ends. Furthermore, we find that minus-end clustering forces induced by ablation seem at least partially responsible for k-fiber splaying. We also investigate the role of the k-fiber-binding kinesin-12 Kif15. We find that pharmacological inhibition of Kif15-microtubule binding reduces the mechanical integrity of k-fibers. In contrast, inhibition of its motor activity but not its microtubule binding ability, i.e., locking Kif15 into a rigor state, does not greatly affect splaying. Altogether, the data suggest that forces holding k-fibers together are of similar magnitude to other spindle forces, and that Kif15, acting as a microtubule crosslinker, helps fortify and repair k-fibers. This feature of Kif15 may help support robust k-fiber function and prevent chromosome segregation errors. [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text]

scholarly journals K-fiber bundles in the mitotic spindle are mechanically reinforced by Kif15

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus A Begley ◽  
April L Solon ◽  
Elizabeth Mae Davis ◽  
Michael Grant Sherrill ◽  
Ryoma Ohi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Molecular Basis ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Fiber Bundles ◽  
Similar Magnitude ◽  
Microtubule Binding ◽  
Mechanical Integrity ◽  
Physical Response

AbstractThe mitotic spindle, a self-constructed microtubule-based machine, segregates chromosomes into two eventual daughter nuclei. In mammalian cells, microtubule bundles called kinetochore-fibers (k-fibers) anchor chromosomes within the spindle. Chromosome segregation thus depends on the mechanical integrity of k-fibers. Here, we investigate the physical and molecular basis of k-fiber bundle cohesion. We sever k-fibers using laser ablation, thereby detaching them from poles and testing the contribution of pole-localized force generation to k-fiber cohesion. We then measure the physical response of the remaining kinetochore-bound segments of the k-fibers. We observe that microtubules within ablated k-fibers often, but not always, splay apart from their minus-ends. Furthermore, we find that minus-end clustering forces induced in response to ablation seem at least partially responsible for k-fiber splaying. We also investigate the role of the putative k-fiber-binding kinesin-12 Kif15. We find that pharmacological inhibition of Kif15 microtubule binding reduces k-fiber mechanical integrity. In contrast, inhibition of its motor activity but not its microtubule binding does not greatly affect splaying. Altogether, the data suggest that forces holding k-fibers together are of similar magnitude to other spindle forces, and that Kif15, acting as a microtubule crosslinker, helps fortify and repair k-fibers. This feature of Kif15 may help support robust k-fiber function and prevent chromosome segregation errors.

The Role of the Centrosome in Development and Progression of Breast Cancer

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (S2) ◽  
pp. 582-583
Author(s):  
W. Lingle ◽  
J. Salisbury ◽  
S. Barrett ◽  
V. Negron ◽  
C. Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Microtubule Organizing Center ◽  
Daughter Cells ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Sister Chromatids ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Interphase Cells ◽  
Organizing Center

The centrosome is the major microtubule organizing center in most mammalian cells, and as such it determines the number, polarity, and spatial distribution of microtubules (MTs). Interphase MTs, together with actin and intermediate filaments, constitute the cell's cytoskeleton, which dynamically maintains cell polarity and tissue architecture. Interphase cells begin Gl of the cell cycle with one centrosome. During S phase, the centrosome duplicates concomitantly with DNA replication. Duplicated centrosomes usually remain in close proximity to one another until late G2, at which time they separate and then move during prophase to become the poles that organize the bipolar mitotic spindle. During the G2/M transition, interphase MTs depolymerize and a new population of highly dynamic mitotic MTs are nucleated at the spindle poles. The bipolar mitotic spindle apparatus constitutes the machinery that partitions and separates sister chromatids equally between two daughter cells.

scholarly journals Identification of overlapping DNA-binding and centromere-targeting domains in the human kinetochore protein CENP-C.

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 3576-3586 ◽  
Author(s):  
C H Yang ◽  
J Tomkiel ◽  
H Saitoh ◽  
D H Johnson ◽  
W C Earnshaw
Keyword(s):  
Dna Binding ◽  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
In Vitro Assays ◽  
Centromeric Heterochromatin ◽  
Structural Protein ◽  
Chromosomal Site

The kinetochore in eukaryotes serves as the chromosomal site of attachment for microtubules of the mitotic spindle and directs the movements necessary for proper chromosome segregation. In mammalian cells, the kinetochore is a highly differentiated trilaminar structure situated at the surface of the centromeric heterochromatin. CENP-C is a basic, DNA-binding protein that localizes to the inner kinetochore plate, the region that abuts the heterochromatin. Microinjection experiments using antibodies specific for CENP-C have demonstrated that this protein is required for the assembly and/or stability of the kinetochore as well as for a timely transition through mitosis. From these observations, it has been suggested that CENP-C is a structural protein that is involved in the organization or the kinetochore. In this report, we wished to identify and map the functional domains of CENP-C. Analysis of CENP-C truncation mutants expressed in vivo demonstrated that CENP-C possesses an autonomous centromere-targeting domain situated at the central region of the CENP-C polypeptide. Similarly, in vitro assays revealed that a region of CENP-C with the ability to bind DNA is also located at the center of the CENP-C molecule, where it overlaps the centromere-targeting domain.

scholarly journals CENP-E Is Essential for Reliable Bioriented Spindle Attachment, but Chromosome Alignment Can Be Achieved via Redundant Mechanisms in Mammalian Cells

2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 2776-2789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce F. McEwen ◽  
Gordon K.T. Chan ◽  
Beata Zubrowski ◽  
Matthew S. Savoian ◽  
Matthew T. Sauer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Protein Localization ◽  
Mitotic Arrest ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Critical Determinant ◽  
Microtubule Binding ◽  
Checkpoint Protein ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Chromosome Position ◽  
Chromosome Alignment

CENP-E is a kinesin-like protein that when depleted from mammalian kinetochores leads to mitotic arrest with a mixture of aligned and unaligned chromosomes. In the present study, we used immunofluorescence, video, and electron microscopy to demonstrate that depletion of CENP-E from kinetochores via antibody microinjection reduces kinetochore microtubule binding by 23% at aligned chromosomes, and severely reduces microtubule binding at unaligned chromosomes. Disruption of CENP-E function also reduces tension across the centromere, increases the incidence of spindle pole fragmentation, and results in monooriented chromosomes approaching abnormally close to the spindle pole. Nevertheless, chromosomes show typical patterns of congression, fast poleward motion, and oscillatory motions. Furthermore, kinetochores of aligned and unaligned chromosomes exhibit normal patterns of checkpoint protein localization. These data are explained by a model in which redundant mechanisms enable kinetochore microtubule binding and checkpoint monitoring in the absence of CENP-E at kinetochores, but where reduced microtubule-binding efficiency, exacerbated by poor positioning at the spindle poles, results in chronically monooriented chromosomes and mitotic arrest. Chromosome position within the spindle appears to be a critical determinant of CENP-E function at kinetochores.

scholarly journals Intermediates in the assembly of mitotic checkpoint complexes and their role in the regulation of the anaphase-promoting complex

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 966-971 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Kaisari ◽  
Danielle Sitry-Shevah ◽  
Shirly Miniowitz-Shemtov ◽  
Avram Hershko
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Spindle Assembly Checkpoint ◽  
Mitotic Checkpoint ◽  
Anaphase Promoting Complex ◽  
Checkpoint Proteins ◽  
Sister Chromatids ◽  
Unknown Species ◽  
Mitotic Checkpoint Complex

The mitotic (or spindle assembly) checkpoint system prevents premature separation of sister chromatids in mitosis and thus ensures the fidelity of chromosome segregation. Kinetochores that are not attached properly to the mitotic spindle produce an inhibitory signal that prevents progression into anaphase. The checkpoint system acts on the Anaphase-Promoting Complex/Cyclosome (APC/C) ubiquitin ligase, which targets for degradation inhibitors of anaphase initiation. APC/C is inhibited by the Mitotic Checkpoint Complex (MCC), which assembles when the checkpoint is activated. MCC is composed of the checkpoint proteins BubR1, Bub3, and Mad2, associated with the APC/C coactivator Cdc20. The intermediary processes in the assembly of MCC are not sufficiently understood. It is also not clear whether or not some subcomplexes of MCC inhibit the APC/C and whether Mad2 is required only for MCC assembly and not for its action on the APC/C. We used purified subcomplexes of mitotic checkpoint proteins to examine these problems. Our results do not support a model in which Mad2 catalytically generates a Mad2-free APC/C inhibitor. We also found that the release of Mad2 from MCC caused a marked (although not complete) decrease in inhibitory action, suggesting a role of Mad2 in MCC for APC/C inhibition. A previously unknown species of MCC, which consists of Mad2, BubR1, and two molecules of Cdc20, contributes to the inhibition of APC/C by the mitotic checkpoint system.

scholarly journals Rapid microtubule-independent dynamics of Cdc20 at kinetochores and centrosomes in mammalian cells

2002 ◽  
Vol 158 (5) ◽  
pp. 841-847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marko J. Kallio ◽  
Victoria A. Beardmore ◽  
Jasminder Weinstein ◽  
Gary J. Gorbsky
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Anaphase Promoting Complex ◽  
Late Prophase ◽  
Checkpoint Signaling ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Anaphase Onset ◽  
Late Telophase ◽  
Green Fluorescent

Cdc20 is a substrate adaptor and activator of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C), the E3 ubiquitin ligase whose activity is required for anaphase onset and exit from mitosis. A green fluorescent protein derivative, Cdc20–GFP, bound to centrosomes throughout the cell cycle and to kinetochores from late prophase to late telophase. We mapped distinct domains of Cdc20 that are required for association with kinetochores and centrosomes. FRAP measurements revealed extremely rapid dynamics at the kinetochores (t1/2 = 5.1 s) and spindle poles (t1/2 = 4.7 s). This rapid turnover is independent of microtubules. Rapid transit of Cdc20 through kinetochores may ensure that spindle checkpoint signaling at unattached/relaxed kinetochores can continuously inhibit APC/CCdc20 targeting of anaphase inhibitors (securins) throughout the cell until all the chromosomes are properly attached to the mitotic spindle.

scholarly journals Human kinetochores are swivel joints that mediate microtubule attachments

eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris A Smith ◽  
Andrew D McAinsh ◽  
Nigel J Burroughs
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Sister Chromatid ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
Mechanical Process ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Chromatid Cohesion ◽  
Sister Kinetochore ◽  
Dynamic Microtubule

Chromosome segregation is a mechanical process that requires assembly of the mitotic spindle – a dynamic microtubule-based force-generating machine. Connections to this spindle are mediated by sister kinetochore pairs, that form dynamic end-on attachments to microtubules emanating from opposite spindle poles. This bi-orientation generates forces that have been reported to stretch the kinetochore itself, which has been suggested to stabilise attachment and silence the spindle checkpoint. We reveal using three dimensional tracking that the outer kinetochore domain can swivel around the inner kinetochore/centromere, which results in large reductions in intra-kinetochore distance (delta) when viewed in lower dimensions. We show that swivel provides a mechanical flexibility that enables kinetochores at the periphery of the spindle to engage microtubules. Swivel reduces as cells approach anaphase, suggesting an organisational change linked to checkpoint satisfaction and/or obligatory changes in kinetochore mechanochemistry may occur before dissolution of sister chromatid cohesion.

Two domains of p80 katanin regulate microtubule severing and spindle pole targeting by p60 katanin

2000 ◽  
Vol 113 (9) ◽  
pp. 1623-1633 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.P. McNally ◽  
O.A. Bazirgan ◽  
F.J. McNally
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Microtubule Binding ◽  
Microtubule Severing ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Wd40 Domain

The assembly and function of the mitotic spindle requires the activity of a number of microtubule-binding proteins. Some microtubule-binding proteins bind microtubules in vitro but do not co-localize with microtubules in interphase cells. Instead these proteins associate with specific subregions of the mitotic spindle. Katanin, a heterodimeric microtubule-severing ATPase, is found localized at mitotic spindle poles. In this paper we demonstrate that human p60 katanin and the C-terminal domain of human p80 katanin both bind microtubules in vitro. Association of these two proteins results in an increased microtubule affinity and increased microtubule-severing activity in vitro. Association of these subunits in transfected HeLa cells increases microtubule disassembly activity and targeting to spindle poles. The N-terminal WD40 domain of p80 katanin acts as a negative regulator of microtubule disassembly activity and is also required for spindle pole localization, possibly through interactions with another spindle-pole protein. These results support a model in which katanin is targeted to spindle poles through a combination of direct microtubule binding by the p60 subunit and through interactions between the WD40 domain and an unknown protein. We propose that both domains of p80 are essential in precisely regulating katanin's activity in vivo.

scholarly journals TPX2 regulates the localization and activity of Eg5 in the mammalian mitotic spindle

2011 ◽  
Vol 195 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Ma ◽  
Janel Titus ◽  
Alyssa Gable ◽  
Jennifer L. Ross ◽  
Patricia Wadsworth
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Spindle Assembly ◽  
Artificial Chromosome ◽  
Fiber Formation ◽  
Interaction Domain ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Spindle Elongation ◽  
Multiple Spindle ◽  
And Function

Mitotic spindle assembly requires the regulated activity of numerous spindle-associated proteins. In mammalian cells, the Kinesin-5 motor Eg5 interacts with the spindle assembly factor TPX2, but how this interaction contributes to spindle formation and function is not established. Using bacterial artificial chromosome technology, we generated cells expressing TPX2 lacking the Eg5 interaction domain. Spindles in these cells were highly disorganized with multiple spindle poles. The TPX2–Eg5 interaction was required for kinetochore fiber formation and contributed to Eg5 localization to spindle microtubules but not spindle poles. Microinjection of the Eg5-binding domain of TPX2 resulted in spindle elongation, indicating that the interaction of Eg5 with TPX2 reduces motor activity. Consistent with this possibility, we found that TPX2 reduced the velocity of Eg5-dependent microtubule gliding, inhibited microtubule sliding, and resulted in the accumulation of motor on microtubules. These results establish a novel function of TPX2 in regulating the location and activity of the mitotic motor Eg5.

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