In vivo regulation of MPF in Xenopus oocytes

Development ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-156
Author(s):  
A.D. Johnson ◽  
L.D. Smith

Entry into M phase in the eukaryotic cell cycle is controlled by the oscillating activity of MPF. The active component of MPF is now known to be the p34cdc2 protein kinase originally found in yeast. The p34cdc2 protein kinase displays a characteristic M-phase-specific histone H1 kinase activity when it interacts with cyclins, which are proteins that oscillate through the cell cycle and are thought to regulate p34cdc2 activity. Cyclins can induce M phase when introduced into fully grown Xenopus oocytes and cyclin may play a role in normal oocyte maturation. Small Xenopus oocytes do not mature in response to the hormonal triggers which act on stage 6 oocytes. We introduced cyclin into stage 4 (small) Xenopus oocytes and showed that it activates MPF in these cells, probably by interacting with endogenous p34cdc2 kinase. We made labelled extracts from cyclin-mRNA-injected stage 4 oocytes and used them to show differential stability of clam cyclins A and B at oocyte maturation. The relative stability of the two forms of cyclin related directly to their ability to stabilize crude MPF preparations from injected stage 6 oocytes.

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2899-2908 ◽  
Author(s):  
A L Jackson ◽  
P M Pahl ◽  
K Harrison ◽  
J Rosamond ◽  
R A Sclafani

Yeast Cdc7 protein kinase and Dbf4 protein are both required for the initiation of DNA replication at the G1/S phase boundary of the mitotic cell cycle. Cdc7 kinase function is stage-specific in the cell cycle, but total Cdc7 protein levels remained unchanged. Therefore, regulation of Cdc7 function appears to be the result of posttranslational modification. In this study, we have attempted to elucidate the mechanism responsible for achieving this specific execution point of Cdc7. Cdc7 kinase activity was shown to be maximal at the G1/S boundary by using either cultures synchronized with alpha factor or Cdc- mutants or with inhibitors of DNA synthesis or mitosis. Therefore, Cdc7 kinase is regulated by a posttranslational mechanism that ensures maximal Cdc7 activity at the G1/S boundary, which is consistent with Cdc7 function in the cell cycle. This cell cycle-dependent regulation could be the result of association with the Dbf4 protein. In this study, the Dbf4 protein was shown to be required for Cdc7 kinase activity in that Cdc7 kinase activity is thermolabile in vitro when extracts prepared from a temperature-sensitive dbf4 mutant grown under permissive conditions are used. In vitro reconstitution assays, in addition to employment of the two-hybrid system for protein-protein interactions, have demonstrated that the Cdc7 and Dbf4 proteins interact both in vitro and in vivo. A suppressor mutation, bob1-1, which can bypass deletion mutations in both cdc7 and dbf4 was isolated. However, the bob1-1 mutation cannot bypass all events in G1 phase because it fails to suppress temperature-sensitive cdc4 or cdc28 mutations. This indicates that the Cdc7 and Dbf4 proteins act at a common point in the cell cycle. Therefore, because of the common point of function for the two proteins and the fact that the Dbf4 protein is essential for Cdc7 function, we propose that Dbf4 may represent a cyclin-like molecule specific for the activation of Cdc7 kinase.


1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 7143-7151 ◽  
Author(s):  
K S Lee ◽  
Y L Yuan ◽  
R Kuriyama ◽  
R L Erikson

PLK (STPK13) encodes a murine protein kinase closely related to those encoded by the Drosophila melanogaster polo gene and the Saccharomyces cerevisiae CDC5 gene, which are required for normal mitotic and meiotic divisions. Affinity-purified antibody generated against the C-terminal 13 amino acids of Plk specifically recognizes a single polypeptide of 66 kDa in MELC, NIH 3T3, and HeLa cellular extracts. The expression levels of both poly(A)+ PLK mRNA and its encoded protein are most abundant about 17 h after serum stimulation of NIH 3T3 cells. Plk protein begins to accumulate at the S/G2 boundary and reaches the maximum level at the G2/M boundary in continuously cycling cells. Concurrent with cyclin B-associated cdc2 kinase activity, Plk kinase activity sharply peaks at the onset of mitosis. Plk enzymatic activity gradually decreases as M phase proceeds but persists longer than cyclin B-associated cdc2 kinase activity. Plk is localized to the area surrounding the chromosomes in prometaphase, appears condensed as several discrete bands along the spindle axis at the interzone in anaphase, and finally concentrates at the midbody during telophase and cytokinesis. Plk and CHO1/mitotic kinesin-like protein 1 (MKLP-1), which induces microtubule bundling and antiparallel movement in vitro, are colocalized during late M phase. In addition, CHO1/MKLP-1 appears to interact with Plk in vivo and to be phosphorylated by Plk-associated kinase activity in vitro.


1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 8469-8478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuhito Yamamoto ◽  
Hidenori Ichijo ◽  
Stanley J. Korsmeyer

ABSTRACT Multiple signal transduction pathways are capable of modifying BCL-2 family members to reset susceptibility to apoptosis. We used two-dimensional peptide mapping and sequencing to identify three residues (Ser70, Ser87, and Thr69) within the unstructured loop of BCL-2 that were phosphorylated in response to microtubule-damaging agents, which also arrest cells at G2/M. Changing these sites to alanine conferred more antiapoptotic activity on BCL-2 following physiologic death signals as well as paclitaxel, indicating that phosphorylation is inactivating. An examination of cycling cells enriched by elutriation for distinct phases of the cell cycle revealed that BCL-2 was phosphorylated at the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. G2/M-phase cells proved more susceptible to death signals, and phosphorylation of BCL-2 appeared to be responsible, as a Ser70Ala substitution restored resistance to apoptosis. We noted that ASK1 and JNK1 were normally activated at G2/M phase, and JNK was capable of phosphorylating BCL-2. Expression of a series of wild-type and dominant-negative kinases indicated an ASK1/Jun N-terminal protein kinase 1 (JNK1) pathway phosphorylated BCL-2 in vivo. Moreover, the combination of dominant negative ASK1, (dnASK1), dnMKK7, and dnJNK1 inhibited paclitaxel-induced BCL-2 phosphorylation. Thus, stress response kinases phosphorylate BCL-2 during cell cycle progression as a normal physiologic process to inactivate BCL-2 at G2/M.


1997 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Altman ◽  
Douglas Kellogg

Little is known about the pathways used by cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases to induce the events of the cell cycle. In budding yeast, a protein called Nap1 binds to the mitotic cyclin Clb2, and Nap1 is required for the ability of Clb2 to induce specific mitotic events, but the role played by Nap1 is unclear. We have used genetic and biochemical approaches to identify additional proteins that function with Nap1 in the control of mitotic events. These approaches have both identified a protein kinase called Gin4 that is required for the ability of Clb2 and Nap1 to promote the switch from polar to isotropic bud growth that normally occurs during mitosis. Gin4 is also required for the ability of Clb2 and Nap1 to promote normal progression through mitosis. The Gin4 protein becomes phosphorylated as cells enter mitosis, resulting in the activation of Gin4 kinase activity, and the phosphorylation of Gin4 is dependent upon Nap1 and Clb2 in vivo. Affinity chromatography experiments demonstrate that Gin4 binds tightly to Nap1, indicating that the functions of these two proteins are closely tied within the cell. These results demonstrate that the activation of Gin4 is under the control of Clb2 and Nap1, and they provide an important step towards elucidating the molecular pathways that link cyclin-dependent kinases to the events they control.


2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 2157-2164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomomi M. Yamamoto ◽  
Kristina Blake-Hodek ◽  
Byron C. Williams ◽  
Andrea L. Lewellyn ◽  
Michael L. Goldberg ◽  
...  

Greatwall kinase has been identified as a key element in M phase initiation and maintenance in Drosophila, Xenopus oocytes/eggs, and mammalian cells. In M phase, Greatwall phosphorylates endosulfine and related proteins that bind to and inhibit protein phosphatase 2A/B55, the principal phosphatase for Cdk-phosphorylated substrates. We show that Greatwall binds active PP2A/B55 in G2 phase oocytes but dissociates from it when progesterone-treated oocytes reach M phase. This dissociation does not require Greatwall kinase activity or phosphorylation at T748 in the presumptive T loop of the kinase. A mutant K71M Greatwall, also known as Scant in Drosophila, induces M phase in the absence of progesterone when expressed in oocytes, despite its reduced stability and elevated degradation by the proteasome. M phase induction by Scant Greatwall requires protein synthesis but is not associated with altered binding or release of PP2A/B55 as compared to wild-type Greatwall. However, in vitro studies with Greatwall proteins purified from interphase cells indicate that Scant, but not wild-type Greatwall, has low but detectable activity against endosulfine. These results demonstrate progesterone-dependent regulation of the PP2A/B55–Greatwall interaction during oocyte maturation and suggest that the cognate Scant Greatwall mutation has sufficient constitutive kinase activity to promote M phase in Xenopus oocytes.


2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 4003-4014 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. A. Hutchins ◽  
Dina Dikovskaya ◽  
Paul R. Clarke

Activation of Cdc2/cyclin B kinase and entry into mitosis requires dephosphorylation of inhibitory sites on Cdc2 by Cdc25 phosphatase. In vertebrates, Cdc25C is inhibited by phosphorylation at a single site targeted by the checkpoint kinases Chk1 and Cds1/Chk2 in response to DNA damage or replication arrest. In Xenopus early embryos, the inhibitory site on Cdc25C (S287) is also phosphorylated by a distinct protein kinase that may determine the intrinsic timing of the cell cycle. We show that S287-kinase activity is repressed in extracts of unfertilized Xenopus eggs arrested in M phase but is rapidly stimulated upon release into interphase by addition of Ca2+, which mimics fertilization. S287-kinase activity is not dependent on cyclin B degradation or inactivation of Cdc2/cyclin B kinase, indicating a direct mechanism of activation by Ca2+. Indeed, inhibitor studies identify the predominant S287-kinase as Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). CaMKII phosphorylates Cdc25C efficiently on S287 in vitro and, like Chk1, is inhibited by 7-hydroxystaurosporine (UCN-01) and debromohymenialdisine, compounds that abrogate G2 arrest in somatic cells. CaMKII delays Cdc2/cyclin B activation via phosphorylation of Cdc25C at S287 in egg extracts, indicating that this pathway regulates the timing of mitosis during the early embryonic cell cycle.


2007 ◽  
Vol 178 (4) ◽  
pp. 621-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Y. Tsang ◽  
Leyu Wang ◽  
Zhihong Chen ◽  
Irma Sánchez ◽  
Brian David Dynlacht

Cyclin A/Cdk2 plays an important role during S and G2/M phases of the eukaryotic cell cycle, but the mechanisms by which it regulates cell cycle events are not fully understood. We have biochemically purified and identified SCAPER, a novel protein that specifically interacts with cyclin A/Cdk2 in vivo. Its expression is cell cycle independent, and it associates with cyclin A/Cdk2 at multiple phases of the cell cycle. SCAPER localizes primarily to the endoplasmic reticulum. Ectopic expression of SCAPER sequesters cyclin A from the nucleus and results specifically in an accumulation of cells in M phase of the cell cycle. RNAi-mediated depletion of SCAPER decreases the cytoplasmic pool of cyclin A and delays the G1/S phase transition upon cell cycle re-entry from quiescence. We propose that SCAPER represents a novel cyclin A/Cdk2 regulatory protein that transiently maintains this kinase in the cytoplasm. SCAPER could play a role in distinguishing S phase– from M phase–specific functions of cyclin A/Cdk2.


Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 147 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Sutton ◽  
Richard Freiman

Abstract The CAK1 gene encodes the major CDK-activating kinase (CAK) in budding yeast and is required for activation of Cdc28p for cell cycle progression from G2 to M phase. Here we describe the isolation of a mutant allele of CAK1 in a synthetic lethal screen with the Sit4 protein phosphatase. Analysis of several different cak1 mutants shows that although the G2 to M transition appears most sensitive to loss of Cak1p function, Cak1p is also required for activation of Cdc28p for progression from G1 into S phase. Further characterization of these mutants suggests that, unlike the CAK identified from higher eukaryotes, Cak1p of budding yeast may not play a role in general transcription. Finally, although Cak1 protein levels and in vitro protein kinase activity do not fluctuate during the cell cycle, at least a fraction of Cak1p associates with higher molecular weight proteins, which may be important for its in vivo function.


Development ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 129 (9) ◽  
pp. 2129-2139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Peter ◽  
Jean-Claude Labbé ◽  
Marcel Dorée ◽  
Elisabeth Mandart

The resumption of meiosis in Xenopus arrested oocytes is triggered by progesterone, which leads to polyadenylation and translation of Mos mRNA, then activation of MAPK pathway. While Mos protein kinase has been reported to be essential for re-entry into meiosis in Xenopus, arrested oocytes can undergo germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) independently of MAPK activation, leading us to question what the Mos target might be if Mos is still required. We now demonstrate that Mos is indeed necessary, although is independent of the MAPK cascade, for conversion of inactive pre-MPF into active MPF. We have found that Myt1 is likely to be the Mos target in this process, as Mos interacts with Myt1 in oocyte extracts and Mos triggers Myt1 phosphorylation on some sites in vivo, even in the absence of MAPK activation. We propose that Mos is involved, not only in the MAPK cascade pathway, but also in a mechanism that directly activates MPF in Xenopus oocytes.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2899-2908 ◽  
Author(s):  
A L Jackson ◽  
P M Pahl ◽  
K Harrison ◽  
J Rosamond ◽  
R A Sclafani

Yeast Cdc7 protein kinase and Dbf4 protein are both required for the initiation of DNA replication at the G1/S phase boundary of the mitotic cell cycle. Cdc7 kinase function is stage-specific in the cell cycle, but total Cdc7 protein levels remained unchanged. Therefore, regulation of Cdc7 function appears to be the result of posttranslational modification. In this study, we have attempted to elucidate the mechanism responsible for achieving this specific execution point of Cdc7. Cdc7 kinase activity was shown to be maximal at the G1/S boundary by using either cultures synchronized with alpha factor or Cdc- mutants or with inhibitors of DNA synthesis or mitosis. Therefore, Cdc7 kinase is regulated by a posttranslational mechanism that ensures maximal Cdc7 activity at the G1/S boundary, which is consistent with Cdc7 function in the cell cycle. This cell cycle-dependent regulation could be the result of association with the Dbf4 protein. In this study, the Dbf4 protein was shown to be required for Cdc7 kinase activity in that Cdc7 kinase activity is thermolabile in vitro when extracts prepared from a temperature-sensitive dbf4 mutant grown under permissive conditions are used. In vitro reconstitution assays, in addition to employment of the two-hybrid system for protein-protein interactions, have demonstrated that the Cdc7 and Dbf4 proteins interact both in vitro and in vivo. A suppressor mutation, bob1-1, which can bypass deletion mutations in both cdc7 and dbf4 was isolated. However, the bob1-1 mutation cannot bypass all events in G1 phase because it fails to suppress temperature-sensitive cdc4 or cdc28 mutations. This indicates that the Cdc7 and Dbf4 proteins act at a common point in the cell cycle. Therefore, because of the common point of function for the two proteins and the fact that the Dbf4 protein is essential for Cdc7 function, we propose that Dbf4 may represent a cyclin-like molecule specific for the activation of Cdc7 kinase.


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