Katanin, the microtubule-severing ATPase, is concentrated at centrosomes

1996 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 561-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.J. McNally ◽  
K. Okawa ◽  
A. Iwamatsu ◽  
R.D. Vale

The assembly and function of the mitotic spindle involve specific changes in the dynamic properties of microtubules. One such change results in the poleward flux of tubulin in which spindle microtubules polymerize at their kinetochore-attached plus ends while they shorten at their centrosome-attached minus ends. Since free microtubule minus ends do not depolymerize in vivo, the poleward flux of tubulin suggests that spindle microtubules are actively disassembled at or near their centrosomal attachment points. The microtubule-severing ATPase, katanin, has the ability actively to sever and disassemble microtubules and is thus a candidate for the role of a protein mediating the poleward flux of tubulin. Here we determine the subcellular localization of katanin by immunofluorescence as a preliminary step in determining whether katanin mediates the poleward flux of tubulin. We find that katanin is highly concentrated at centrosomes throughout the cell cycle. Katanin's localization is different from that of gamma-tubulin in that microtubules are required to maintain the centrosomal localization of katanin. Direct comparison of the localization of katanin and gamma-tubulin reveals that katanin is localized in a region surrounding the gamma-tubulin-containing pericentriolar region in detergent-extracted mitotic spindles. The centrosomal localization of katanin is consistent with the hypothesis that katanin mediates the disassembly of microtubule minus ends during poleward flux.

1997 ◽  
Vol 110 (5) ◽  
pp. 623-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.A. Martin ◽  
S.A. Osmani ◽  
B.R. Oakley

gamma-Tubulin has been hypothesized to be essential for the nucleation of the assembly of mitotic spindle microtubules, but some recent results suggest that this may not be the case. To clarify the role of gamma-tubulin in microtubule assembly and cell-cycle progression, we have developed a novel variation of the gene disruption/heterokaryon rescue technique of Aspergillus nidulans. We have used temperature-sensitive cell-cycle mutations to synchronize germlings carrying a gamma-tubulin disruption and observe the phenotypes caused by the disruption in the first cell cycle after germination. Our results indicate that gamma-tubulin is absolutely required for the assembly of mitotic spindle microtubules, a finding that supports the hypothesis that gamma-tubulin is involved in spindle microtubule nucleation. In the absence of functional gamma-tubulin, nuclei are blocked with condensed chromosomes for about the length of one cell cycle before chromatin decondenses without nuclear division. Our results indicate that gamma-tubulin is not essential for progression from G1 to G2, for entry into mitosis nor for spindle pole body replication. It is also not required for reactivity of spindle pole bodies with the MPM-2 antibody which recognizes a phosphoepitope important to mitotic spindle formation. Finally, it does not appear to be absolutely required for cytoplasmic microtubule assembly but may play a role in the formation of normal cytoplasmic microtubule arrays.


2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 3080-3096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Liu ◽  
Malika Boukhelifa ◽  
Emily Tribble ◽  
Elizabeth Morin-Kensicki ◽  
Andrea Uetrecht ◽  
...  

Phosphoinositides (PIPs) are ubiquitous regulators of signal transduction events in eukaryotic cells. PIPs are degraded by various enzymes, including PIP phosphatases. The integral membrane Sac1 phosphatases represent a major class of such enzymes. The central role of lipid phosphatases in regulating PIP homeostasis notwithstanding, the biological functions of Sac1-phosphatases remain poorly characterized. Herein, we demonstrate that functional ablation of the single murine Sac1 results in preimplantation lethality in the mouse and that Sac1 insufficiencies result in disorganization of mammalian Golgi membranes and mitotic defects characterized by multiple mechanically active spindles. Complementation experiments demonstrate mutant mammalian Sac1 proteins individually defective in either phosphoinositide phosphatase activity, or in recycling of the enzyme from the Golgi system back to the endoplasmic reticulum, are nonfunctional proteins in vivo. The data indicate Sac1 executes an essential household function in mammals that involves organization of both Golgi membranes and mitotic spindles and that both enzymatic activity and endoplasmic reticulum localization are important Sac1 functional properties.


2010 ◽  
Vol 189 (4) ◽  
pp. 651-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Romé ◽  
Emilie Montembault ◽  
Nathalie Franck ◽  
Aude Pascal ◽  
David M. Glover ◽  
...  

Aurora A is a spindle pole–associated protein kinase required for mitotic spindle assembly and chromosome segregation. In this study, we show that Drosophila melanogaster aurora A phosphorylates the dynactin subunit p150glued on sites required for its association with the mitotic spindle. Dynactin strongly accumulates on microtubules during prophase but disappears as soon as the nuclear envelope breaks down, suggesting that its spindle localization is tightly regulated. If aurora A's function is compromised, dynactin and dynein become enriched on mitotic spindle microtubules. Phosphorylation sites are localized within the conserved microtubule-binding domain (MBD) of the p150glued. Although wild-type p150glued binds weakly to spindle microtubules, a variant that can no longer be phosphorylated by aurora A remains associated with spindle microtubules and fails to rescue depletion of endogenous p150glued. Our results suggest that aurora A kinase participates in vivo to the phosphoregulation of the p150glued MBD to limit the microtubule binding of the dynein–dynactin complex and thus regulates spindle assembly.


Author(s):  
Yulia Steblyanko ◽  
Girish Rajendraprasad ◽  
Mariana Osswald ◽  
Susana Eibes ◽  
Stephan Geley ◽  
...  

AbstractMitotic spindle microtubules (MTs) undergo continuous poleward flux, whose driving force and function in humans remain unclear. Here, we combined loss-of-function screenings with analysis of MT dynamics in human cells to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying MT-flux. We report that kinesin-7/CENP-E at kinetochores (KTs) is the predominant driver of MT-flux in early prometaphase, while kinesin-4/KIF4A on chromosome arms facilitates MT-flux during late prometaphase and metaphase. We show that both of these activities work in coordination with MT-crosslinking motors kinesin-5/EG5 and kinesin-12/KIF15. Our data further indicate that MT-flux driving force is transmitted from non-KT MTs to KT-MTs via MT-coupling by HSET and NuMA. Moreover, we found that MT-flux rate correlates with spindle size and this correlation depends on the establishment of stable end-on KT-MT attachments. Strikingly, we revealed that flux is required to counteract the kinesin 13/MCAK-dependent MT-depolymerization to regulate spindle length. Thus, our study demonstrates that MT-flux in human cells is driven by the coordinated action of four kinesins, and is required to regulate mitotic spindle size in response to MCAK-mediated MT-depolymerizing activity at KTs.


1991 ◽  
Vol 112 (5) ◽  
pp. 941-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
K E Sawin ◽  
T J Mitchison

In the preceding paper we described pathways of mitotic spindle assembly in cell-free extracts prepared from eggs of Xenopus laevis. Here we demonstrate the poleward flux of microtubules in spindles assembled in vitro, using a photoactivatable fluorescein covalently coupled to tubulin and multi-channel fluorescence videomicroscopy. After local photoactivation of fluorescence by UV microbeam, we observed poleward movement of fluorescein-marked microtubules at a rate of 3 microns/min, similar to rates of chromosome movement and spindle elongation during prometaphase and anaphase. This movement could be blocked by the addition of millimolar AMP-PNP but was not affected by concentrations of vanadate up to 150 microM, suggesting that poleward flux may be driven by a microtubule motor similar to kinesin. In contrast to previous results obtained in vivo (Mitchison, T. J. 1989. J. Cell Biol. 109:637-652), poleward flux in vitro appears to occur independently of kinetochores or kinetochore microtubules, and therefore may be a general property of relatively stable microtubules within the spindle. We find that microtubules moving towards poles are dynamic structures, and we have estimated the average half-life of fluxing microtubules in vitro to be between approximately 75 and 100 s. We discuss these results with regard to the function of poleward flux in spindle movements in anaphase and prometaphase.


1983 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 527-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Molè-Bajer ◽  
A S Bajer

We have studied the effect of taxol on mitosis in Haemanthus endosperm. Immuno-Gold Stain (IGS), a new immunocytochemical method (17), was used to visualize microtubules (MTs) in the light microscope. Observations on MT arrangements were correlated with studies in vivo. Chromosome movements are affected in all stages of mitosis which progresses over at least 10(4) range of taxol concentrations. The three most characteristic effects on MTs are: (a) enhancement of the lateral associations between MTs, seen especially during the reorganization of the polar region of the spindle, (b) promotion of MT assembly, leading to the formation of additional MTs in the spindle and MT arrays in the cytoplasm, and (c) an increase in MT stability, demonstrated in their increased cold resistance. In this report, the emphasis is on the primary, immediate effects, occurring in the first 30 min of taxol action. Effects are detected after a few mins, are reversible, and are concentration/time dependent. The spindle and phragmoplast are remarkably modified due to the enhancement of lateral associations of MTs and the formation of abundant nonkinetochore and polar, asterlike MTs. The equatorial region of the interzone in anaphase may be entirely depleted of MTs, and the spindle may break perpendicular to the spindle axis. Mitosis is completed in these conditions, providing evidence for the motile autonomy of each half-spindle. Trailing chromosome arms in anaphase are often stretched and broken. Chromosome fragments are transported away from the polar regions, i.e., in the direction opposite to that expected (5, 6). This supplies the first direct evidence of pushing by elongating MTs in an anastral higher plant spindle. These observations draw attention to the relation between the lateral association of MT ends to assembly/disassembly and to the role of such an interaction in spindle function and organization.


Diabetes ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 61 (7) ◽  
pp. 1708-1718 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. P. Cai ◽  
M. Casimir ◽  
S. A. Schroer ◽  
C. T. Luk ◽  
S. Y. Shi ◽  
...  

Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 168
Author(s):  
Susanna Fiorelli ◽  
Nicola Cosentino ◽  
Benedetta Porro ◽  
Franco Fabbiocchi ◽  
Giampaolo Niccoli ◽  
...  

Netrin-1 is a laminin-like protein that plays a pivotal role in cell migration and, according to the site of its release, exerts both pro and anti-atherosclerotic functions. Macrophages, key cells in atherosclerosis, are heterogeneous in morphology and function and different subpopulations may support plaque progression, stabilization, and/or regression. Netrin-1 was evaluated in plasma and, together with its receptor UNC5b, in both spindle and round monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) morphotypes from coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and control subjects. In CAD patients, plaque features were detected in vivo by optical coherence tomography. CAD patients had lower plasma Netrin-1 levels and a higher MDMs expression of both protein and its receptor compared to controls. Specifically, a progressive increase in Netrin-1 and UNC5b was evidenced going from controls to stable angina (SA) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. Of note, spindle MDMs of AMI showed a marked increase of both Netrin-1 and its receptor compared to spindle MDMs of controls. UNC5b expression is always higher in spindle compared to round MDMs, regardless of the subgroup. Finally, CAD patients with higher intracellular Netrin-1 levels showed greater intraplaque macrophage accumulation in vivo. Our findings support the role of Netrin-1 and UNC5b in the atherosclerotic process.


2000 ◽  
Vol 113 (16) ◽  
pp. 2821-2827 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Quarmby

Recent biochemical studies of the AAA ATPase, katanin, provide a foundation for understanding how microtubules might be severed along their length. These in vitro studies are complemented by a series of recent reports of direct in vivo observation of microtubule breakage, which indicate that the in vitro phenomenon of catalysed microtubule severing is likely to be physiological. There is also new evidence that microtubule severing by katanin is important for the production of non-centrosomal microtubules in cells such as neurons and epithelial cells. Although it has been difficult to establish the role of katanin in mitosis, new genetic evidence indicates that a katanin-like protein, MEI-1, plays an essential role in meiosis in C. elegans. Finally, new proteins involved in the severing of axonemal microtubules have been discovered in the deflagellation system of Chlamydomonas.


1995 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn J. Sympson ◽  
Rabih S. Talhouk ◽  
Mina J. Bissell ◽  
Zena Werb

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