Regulation of Mitosis

1969 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 745-755
Author(s):  
W. T. JACKSON
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Polarization Microscopy ◽  
Animal Cells ◽  
Higher Plant ◽  
Competitive Antagonism ◽  
Dividing Cells ◽  
Spindle Microtubules ◽  
Giant Nuclei

Earlier studies on the effects of the herbicide isopropyl N-phenylcarbamate (IPC) on mitosis revealed blocked metaphases, multinucleate cells, giant nuclei and an increase in number of partly contracted chromosomes. It was assumed that IPC, like colchicine, was causing these effects by disruption of the spindle apparatus by destroying the spindle microtubules. The animal hormone melatonin causes an increase in birefringence of the mitotic spindle in animal cells, presumably by increasing the number of microtubules. We have studied the effects of IPC, melatonin, and combinations of the two on mitosis in dividing endosperm cells of the African blood lily (Haemanthus katherinae Baker) in vivo by phase-contrast and polarization microscopy. Both qualitative and quantitative data are presented. Interpretation of these results has been aided materially by a time-lapse cinemicrographic analysis of dividing cells subjected to 1 and 10 p.p.m. IPC (unpublished) and by an accompanying fine-structural analysis of untreated and IPC-treated cells. Mitosis was disrupted by 0.01-10 p.p.m. IPC, the severity of the effect depending on both concentration and stage of mitosis of the cell at the time of treatment. Concentrations of IPC that caused cessation of chromosome movement also caused loss of birefringence of the mitotic spindle. Melatonin increased birefringence of the mitotic spindle in these plant cells and partly nullified the adverse effects of IPC. The results of this study demonstrate that the herbicide IPC, under our conditions, causes disruption of mitosis and loss of birefringence of the spindle. And it has been established that an animal hormone is capable of increasing the birefringence, and presumably the number of microtubules, of the mitotic spindle in dividing endosperm cells of a higher plant. Although melatonin is capable of partly nullifying the effects of IPC, a competitive antagonism is not postulated.

scholarly journals Implication of a novel multiprotein Dam1p complex in outer kinetochore function

2001 ◽  
Vol 155 (7) ◽  
pp. 1137-1146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain M. Cheeseman ◽  
Christine Brew ◽  
Michael Wolyniak ◽  
Arshad Desai ◽  
Scott Anderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Temperature Sensitive Mutants ◽  
Phosphorylation Event ◽  
Spindle Microtubules ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Kinetochore Function

Dam1p, Duo1p, and Dad1p can associate with each other physically and are required for both spindle integrity and kinetochore function in budding yeast. Here, we present our purification from yeast extracts of an ∼245 kD complex containing Dam1p, Duo1p, and Dad1p and Spc19p, Spc34p, and the previously uncharacterized proteins Dad2p and Ask1p. This Dam1p complex appears to be regulated through the phosphorylation of multiple subunits with at least one phosphorylation event changing during the cell cycle. We also find that purified Dam1p complex binds directly to microtubules in vitro with an affinity of ∼0.5 μM. To demonstrate that subunits of the Dam1p complex are functionally important for mitosis in vivo, we localized Spc19–green fluorescent protein (GFP), Spc34-GFP, Dad2-GFP, and Ask1-GFP to the mitotic spindle and to kinetochores and generated temperature-sensitive mutants of DAD2 and ASK1. These and other analyses implicate the four newly identified subunits and the Dam1p complex as a whole in outer kinetochore function where they are well positioned to facilitate the association of chromosomes with spindle microtubules.

scholarly journals A Spindle Checkpoint Functions during Mitosis in the Early Caenorhabditis elegans Embryo

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 1056-1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra E. Encalada ◽  
John Willis ◽  
Rebecca Lyczak ◽  
Bruce Bowerman
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Spindle Checkpoint ◽  
Metaphase Plate ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Embryonic Cells ◽  
Mitotic Spindles ◽  
Animal Cells ◽  
Dividing Cells

During mitosis, chromosome segregation is regulated by a spindle checkpoint mechanism. This checkpoint delays anaphase until all kinetochores are captured by microtubules from both spindle poles, chromosomes congress to the metaphase plate, and the tension between kinetochores and their attached microtubules is properly sensed. Although the spindle checkpoint can be activated in many different cell types, the role of this regulatory mechanism in rapidly dividing embryonic animal cells has remained controversial. Here, using time-lapse imaging of live embryonic cells, we show that chemical or mutational disruption of the mitotic spindle in early Caenorhabditis elegans embryos delays progression through mitosis. By reducing the function of conserved checkpoint genes in mutant embryos with defective mitotic spindles, we show that these delays require the spindle checkpoint. In the absence of a functional checkpoint, more severe defects in chromosome segregation are observed in mutants with abnormal mitotic spindles. We also show that the conserved kinesin CeMCAK, the CENP-F-related proteins HCP-1 and HCP-2, and the core kinetochore protein CeCENP-C all are required for this checkpoint. Our analysis indicates that spindle checkpoint mechanisms are functional in the rapidly dividing cells of an early animal embryo and that this checkpoint can prevent chromosome segregation defects during mitosis.

scholarly journals A novel, dynein-independent mechanism focuses the endoplasmic reticulum around spindle poles in dividing Drosophila spermatocytes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darya Karabasheva ◽  
Jeremy T. Smyth
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Sudden Onset ◽  
Animal Cells ◽  
Specific Mechanism ◽  
Spindle Poles ◽  
Spindle Apparatus ◽  
Independent Mechanism ◽  
M Phase ◽  
Dividing Cells

AbstractIn dividing animal cells the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) concentrates around the poles of the spindle apparatus by associating with astral microtubules (MTs), and this association is essential for proper ER partitioning to progeny cells. The mechanisms that associate the ER with astral MTs are unknown. Because astral MT minus-ends are anchored by centrosomes at spindle poles, we tested the hypothesis that the MT minus-end motor dynein mediates ER concentration around spindle poles. Live in vivo imaging of Drosophila spermatocytes undergoing the first meiotic division revealed that dynein is required for ER concentration around centrosomes during interphase. In marked contrast, however, dynein suppression had no effect on ER association with astral MTs and concentration around spindle poles in early M-phase. Importantly though, there was a sudden onset of ER-astral MT association in Dhc64C RNAi cells, revealing activation of an M-phase specific mechanism. ER redistribution to spindle poles also did not require non-claret disjunctional (ncd), the other known Drosophila MT minus-end motor, nor Klp61F, a MT plus-end motor that generates spindle poleward forces. Collectively, our results suggest that a novel, M-phase specific mechanism of ER-MT association that is independent of MT minus-end motors is required for proper ER partitioning in dividing cells.

Microtubule dynamics in the mitotic spindle

1987 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 794-797
Author(s):  
J. Richard McIntosh ◽  
Guy P. A. Vigers
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Living Cell ◽  
Mitotic Cell ◽  
Tubulin Polymerization ◽  
Half Time ◽  
Laser Microbeam ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Spindle Microtubules ◽  
Lines Of Evidence

Six lines of evidence suggest that the mitotic spindle is highly labile in vivo: the spindle forms for division and disassembles as it finishes its job; the spindle dissolves under most conditions of cell lysis; the spindle disappears when a living cell is treated with temperatures near 0°C or high hydrostatic pressure; the spindle quickly disassembles when drugs that block tubulin polymerization are put on or injected into a cell; labeled tubulin, injected into a mitotic cell, is incorporated into the spindle within seconds of injection; and the spindle of a living cell, equilibrated with injected fluorescent tubulin, may be photobleached with a laser microbeam, and the spindle fluorescence redistributes with a half time of 15 - 20 sec. These data suggest that spindle microtubules (MTs) are in rapidly exchanging equilibrium with a pool of soluble tubulin subunits (Reviewed in 1 - 3).

Cytoplasmic assembly of microtubules in cultured cells

1997 ◽  
Vol 110 (21) ◽  
pp. 2635-2645 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.A. Vorobjev ◽  
T.M. Svitkina ◽  
G.G. Borisy
Keyword(s):  
Cultured Cells ◽  
Dynamic Instability ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Animal Cells ◽  
Apparent Diffusion Coefficients ◽  
Apparent Diffusion ◽  
Free Microtubules ◽  
Microtubule Formation

The origin of non-centrosomal microtubules was investigated in a variety of animal cells in culture by means of time-lapse digital fluorescence microscopy. A previous study (Keating et al. (1997) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 94, 5078–5083) demonstrated a pathway for formation of non-centrosomal microtubules by release from the centrosome. Here we show a parallel pathway not dependent upon the centrosome. Correlative immunostaining with anti-tubulin antibodies and electron microscopy established that apparent free microtubules observed in vivo were not growing ends of long stable microtubules. Free microtubules appeared spontaneously in the cytoplasm and occasionally by breakage of long microtubules. Estimates of the frequencies of free microtubule formation suggest that it can be a relatively common rather than exceptional event in PtK1 cells and may represent a significant source of non-centrosomal microtubules. The observation of free microtubules permitted analysis of the microtubule minus end. Unlike the plus end which showed dynamic instability, the minus end was stable or depolymerized. Breakage of long microtubules generated nascent plus and minus ends; the nascent minus end was generally stable while the plus end was always dynamic. The stability of microtubule minus ends in vivo apparently provides the necessary condition for free microtubule formation in the cytoplasm. Parameters of the dynamic instability of plus ends of free microtubules were similar to those for the distal ends of long microtubules, indicating that the free microtubules were not exceptional in their dynamic behavior. Random walk analysis of microtubule end dynamics gave apparent diffusion coefficients for free and long microtubules which permitted an estimate of turnover half-times. The results support the concept that, in PtK1 cells, a pathway other than plus end dynamics is needed to account for the rapidity of microtubule turnover.

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
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Dynamic Properties ◽  
Mitotic Spindles ◽  
Microtubule Severing ◽  
Spindle Microtubules ◽  
Gamma Tubulin ◽  
And Function ◽  
Poleward Flux

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.

scholarly journals The budding yeast Ipl1/Aurora protein kinase regulates mitotic spindle disassembly

2003 ◽  
Vol 160 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphanie Buvelot ◽  
Sean Y. Tatsutani ◽  
Danielle Vermaak ◽  
Sue Biggins
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Kinase Activity ◽  
Budding Yeast ◽  
Genomic Stability ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Time Lapse Microscopy ◽  
Spindle Disassembly ◽  
Spindle Midzone ◽  
Spindle Microtubules

Ipl1p is the budding yeast member of the Aurora family of protein kinases, critical regulators of genomic stability that are required for chromosome segregation, the spindle checkpoint, and cytokinesis. Using time-lapse microscopy, we found that Ipl1p also has a function in mitotic spindle disassembly that is separable from its previously identified roles. Ipl1–GFP localizes to kinetochores from G1 to metaphase, transfers to the spindle after metaphase, and accumulates at the spindle midzone late in anaphase. Ipl1p kinase activity increases at anaphase, and ipl1 mutants can stabilize fragile spindles. As the spindle disassembles, Ipl1p follows the plus ends of the depolymerizing spindle microtubules. Many Ipl1p substrates colocalize with Ipl1p to the spindle midzone, identifying additional proteins that may regulate spindle disassembly. We propose that Ipl1p regulates both the kinetochore and interpolar microtubule plus ends to regulate its various mitotic functions.

scholarly journals Cell cycle regulation of tubulin RNA level, tubulin protein synthesis, and assembly of microtubules in Physarum.

1984 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Schedl ◽  
T G Burland ◽  
K Gull ◽  
W F Dove
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Microscopic Analysis ◽  
Nucleic Acid Hybridization ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Two Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Spindle Microtubules ◽  
Beta 2

The temporal relationship between tubulin expression and the assembly of the mitotic spindle microtubules has been investigated during the naturally synchronous cell cycle of the Physarum plasmodium. The cell cycle behavior of the tubulin isoforms was examined by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of proteins labeled in vivo and by translation of RNA in vitro. alpha 1-, alpha 2-, beta 1-, and beta 2-tubulin synthesis increases coordinately until metaphase, and then falls, with beta 2 falling more rapidly than beta 1. Nucleic acid hybridization demonstrated that alpha- and beta-tubulin RNAs accumulate coordinately during G2, peaking at metaphase. Quantitative analysis demonstrated that alpha-tubulin RNA increases with apparent exponential kinetics, peaking with an increase over the basal level of greater than 40-fold. After metaphase, tubulin RNA levels fall exponentially, with a short half-life (19 min). Electron microscopic analysis of the plasmodium showed that the accumulation of tubulin RNA begins long before the polymerization of mitotic spindle microtubules. By contrast, the decay of tubulin RNA after metaphase coincides with the depolymerization of the spindle microtubules.

scholarly journals SLK-dependent activation of ERMs controls LGN–NuMA localization and spindle orientation

2014 ◽  
Vol 205 (6) ◽  
pp. 791-799 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mickael Machicoane ◽  
Cristina A. de Frutos ◽  
Jenny Fink ◽  
Murielle Rocancourt ◽  
Yannis Lombardi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Spindle Orientation ◽  
Cell Cortex ◽  
Mitotic Apparatus ◽  
Mitotic Entry ◽  
Spindle Microtubules ◽  
Force Generator

Mitotic spindle orientation relies on a complex dialog between the spindle microtubules and the cell cortex, in which F-actin has been recently implicated. Here, we report that the membrane–actin linkers ezrin/radixin/moesin (ERMs) are strongly and directly activated by the Ste20-like kinase at mitotic entry in mammalian cells. Using microfabricated adhesive substrates to control the axis of cell division, we found that the activation of ERMs plays a key role in guiding the orientation of the mitotic spindle. Accordingly, impairing ERM activation in apical progenitors of the mouse embryonic neocortex severely disturbed spindle orientation in vivo. At the molecular level, ERM activation promotes the polarized association at the mitotic cortex of leucine-glycine-asparagine repeat protein (LGN) and nuclear mitotic apparatus (NuMA) protein, two essential factors for spindle orientation. We propose that activated ERMs, together with Gαi, are critical for the correct localization of LGN–NuMA force generator complexes and hence for proper spindle orientation.

scholarly journals Characterization of proteins immunologically related to brain microtubule-associated protein MAP-1B in non-neural cells

1989 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. 607-620
Author(s):  
J. Diaz-Nido ◽  
J. Avila
Keyword(s):  
Mitotic Spindle ◽  
Polyclonal Antibodies ◽  
Microtubule Assembly ◽  
Neural Cells ◽  
Microtubule Network ◽  
Cytoplasmic Microtubule ◽  
Protein Map ◽  
Dividing Cells

Brain microtubule-associated protein MAP-1 is composed of at least two polypeptides, MAP-1A and MAP-1B, which are among the main components of the neural cytoskeleton. Specific monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against MAP-1B stain nuclei, mitotic spindles, centrosomes and the cytoplasmic microtubule network of different non-neural cells studied by immunofluorescence microscopy. It appears that these cells contain two proteins of 325K and 220K (K = 10(3) Mr), which are immunologically related to brain MAP-1B. The 325K protein, which is localized to the cytoplasmic microtubule network, the centrosome and the mitotic spindle, seems to be structurally related to the neural MAP-1B, as judged from their similar peptide maps and phosphorylation patterns. The 220K protein, which is localized to the nuclear matrix in interphase cells and to the mitotic spindle in dividing cells, has a proteolytic profile different from that of neural MAP-1B and is phosphorylated to a much lesser extent than the 325K protein. Both proteins bind tubulin in vitro, which suggests that they may participate in microtubule assembly in vivo; the 325K protein could perform such a role during the entire cell cycle, while the 220K protein could be implicated in the formation of the mitotic spindle.

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