scholarly journals The Abscission Checkpoint: A Guardian of Chromosomal Stability

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 3350
Author(s):  
Eleni Petsalaki ◽  
George Zachos

The abscission checkpoint contributes to the fidelity of chromosome segregation by delaying completion of cytokinesis (abscission) when there is chromatin lagging in the intercellular bridge between dividing cells. Although additional triggers of an abscission checkpoint-delay have been described, including nuclear pore defects, replication stress or high intercellular bridge tension, this review will focus only on chromatin bridges. In the presence of such abnormal chromosomal tethers in mammalian cells, the abscission checkpoint requires proper localization and optimal kinase activity of the Chromosomal Passenger Complex (CPC)-catalytic subunit Aurora B at the midbody and culminates in the inhibition of Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport-III (ESCRT-III) components at the abscission site to delay the final cut. Furthermore, cells with an active checkpoint stabilize the narrow cytoplasmic canal that connects the two daughter cells until the chromatin bridges are resolved. Unsuccessful resolution of chromatin bridges in checkpoint-deficient cells or in cells with unstable intercellular canals can lead to chromatin bridge breakage or tetraploidization by regression of the cleavage furrow. In turn, these outcomes can lead to accumulation of DNA damage, chromothripsis, generation of hypermutation clusters and chromosomal instability, which are associated with cancer formation or progression. Recently, many important questions regarding the mechanisms of the abscission checkpoint have been investigated, such as how the presence of chromatin bridges is signaled to the CPC, how Aurora B localization and kinase activity is regulated in late midbodies, the signaling pathways by which Aurora B implements the abscission delay, and how the actin cytoskeleton is remodeled to stabilize intercellular canals with DNA bridges. Here, we review recent progress toward understanding the mechanisms of the abscission checkpoint and its role in guarding genome integrity at the chromosome level, and consider its potential implications for cancer therapy.

Open Biology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 120070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luisa Capalbo ◽  
Emilie Montembault ◽  
Tetsuya Takeda ◽  
Zuni I. Bassi ◽  
David M. Glover ◽  
...  

Summary Cytokinesis controls the proper segregation of nuclear and cytoplasmic materials at the end of cell division. The chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) has been proposed to monitor the final separation of the two daughter cells at the end of cytokinesis in order to prevent cell abscission in the presence of DNA at the cleavage site, but the precise molecular basis for this is unclear. Recent studies indicate that abscission could be mediated by the assembly of filaments comprising components of the endosomal sorting complex required for transport-III (ESCRT-III). Here, we show that the CPC subunit Borealin interacts directly with the Snf7 components of ESCRT-III in both Drosophila and human cells. Moreover, we find that the CPC's catalytic subunit, Aurora B kinase, phosphorylates one of the three human Snf7 paralogues—CHMP4C—in its C-terminal tail, a region known to regulate its ability to form polymers and associate with membranes. Phosphorylation at these sites appears essential for CHMP4C function because their mutation leads to cytokinesis defects. We propose that CPC controls abscission timing through inhibition of ESCRT-III Snf7 polymerization and membrane association using two concurrent mechanisms: interaction of its Borealin component with Snf7 proteins and phosphorylation of CHMP4C by Aurora B.


eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Caballe ◽  
Dawn M Wenzel ◽  
Monica Agromayor ◽  
Steven L Alam ◽  
Jack J Skalicky ◽  
...  

The endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) machinery mediates the physical separation between daughter cells during cytokinetic abscission. This process is regulated by the abscission checkpoint, a genome protection mechanism that relies on Aurora B and the ESCRT-III subunit CHMP4C to delay abscission in response to chromosome missegregation. In this study, we show that Unc-51-like kinase 3 (ULK3) phosphorylates and binds ESCRT-III subunits via tandem MIT domains, and thereby, delays abscission in response to lagging chromosomes, nuclear pore defects, and tension forces at the midbody. Our structural and biochemical studies reveal an unusually tight interaction between ULK3 and IST1, an ESCRT-III subunit required for abscission. We also demonstrate that IST1 phosphorylation by ULK3 is an essential signal required to sustain the abscission checkpoint and that ULK3 and CHMP4C are functionally linked components of the timer that controls abscission in multiple physiological situations.


Open Biology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (7) ◽  
pp. 120095 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mar Carmena

At the end of cell division, the cytoplasmic bridge joining the daughter cells is severed through a process that involves scission of the plasma membrane. The presence of chromatin bridges ‘stuck’ in the division plane is sensed by the chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) component Aurora B kinase, triggering a checkpoint that delays abscission until the chromatin bridges have been resolved. Recent work has started to shed some light on the molecular mechanism by which the CPC controls the timing of abscission.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M. Field ◽  
James F. Pelletier ◽  
Timothy J. Mitchison

AbstractWe investigated how bulk cytoplasm prepares for cytokinesis in Xenopus laevis eggs, which are large, rapidly dividing cells. The egg midplane is demarcated by Chromosomal Passenger Complex (CPC) localized on microtubule bundles between asters. Using an extract system and intact eggs we found that local kinase activity of the AURKB subunit of the CPC caused disassembly of F-actin and keratin between asters, and local softening of the cytoplasm as assayed by flow patterns. Beads coated with active CPC mimicked aster boundaries and caused AURKB-dependent disassembly of F-actin and keratin that propagated ~40 μm without microtubules, and much farther with microtubules present, due to CPC auto-activation. We propose that active CPC at aster boundaries locally reduces cytoplasmic stiffness by disassembling actin and keratin networks. This may help sister centrosomes move apart after mitosis, prepare a soft path for furrow ingression and/or release G-actin to build the furrow cortex.


2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1099-1108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maki Murata-Hori ◽  
Masaaki Tatsuka ◽  
Yu-Li Wang

Aurora B is a protein kinase and a chromosomal passenger protein that undergoes dynamic redistribution during mitosis. We have probed the mechanism that regulates its localization with cells expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged wild-type or mutant aurora B. Aurora B was found at centromeres at prophase and persisted until ∼0.5 min after anaphase onset, when it redistributed to the spindle midzone and became concentrated at the equator along midzone microtubules. Depolymerization of microtubules inhibited the dissociation of aurora B from centromeres at early anaphase and caused the dispersion of aurora B from the spindle midzone at late anaphase; however, centromeric association during prometaphase was unaffected. Inhibition of CDK1 deactivation similarly caused aurora B to remain associated with centromeres during anaphase. In contrast, inhibition of the kinase activity of aurora B appeared to have no effect on its interactions with centromeres or initial relocation onto midzone microtubules. Instead, kinase-inactive aurora B caused abnormal mitosis and deactivation of the spindle checkpoint. In addition, midzone microtubule bundles became destabilized and aurora B dispersed from the equator. Our results suggest that microtubules, CDK1, and the kinase activity each play a distinct role in the dynamics and functions of aurora B in dividing cells.


Open Biology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 160019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Callum McKenzie ◽  
Zuni I. Bassi ◽  
Janusz Debski ◽  
Marco Gottardo ◽  
Giuliano Callaini ◽  
...  

Cytokinesis culminates in the final separation, or abscission, of the two daughter cells at the end of cell division. Abscission relies on an organelle, the midbody, which forms at the intercellular bridge and is composed of various proteins arranged in a precise stereotypic pattern. The molecular mechanisms controlling midbody organization and function, however, are obscure. Here we show that proper midbody architecture requires cross-regulation between two cell division kinases, Citron kinase (CIT-K) and Aurora B, the kinase component of the chromosomal passenger complex (CPC). CIT-K interacts directly with three CPC components and is required for proper midbody architecture and the orderly arrangement of midbody proteins, including the CPC. In addition, we show that CIT-K promotes Aurora B activity through phosphorylation of the INCENP CPC subunit at the TSS motif. In turn, Aurora B controls CIT-K localization and association with its central spindle partners through phosphorylation of CIT-K's coiled coil domain. Our results identify, for the first time, a cross-regulatory mechanism between two kinases during cytokinesis, which is crucial for establishing the stereotyped organization of midbody proteins.


2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 1655-1659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xavier Fant ◽  
Kumiko Samejima ◽  
Ana Carvalho ◽  
Hiromi Ogawa ◽  
Zhenjie Xu ◽  
...  

The CPC [chromosomal passenger complex; INCENP (inner centromere protein), Aurora B kinase, survivin and borealin] is implicated in many mitotic processes. In the present paper we describe how we generated DT40 conditional-knockout cell lines for incenp1 and survivin1 to better understand the role of these CPC subunits in the control of Aurora B kinase activity. These lines enabled us to reassess current knowledge of survivin function and to show that INCENP acts as a rheostat for Aurora B activity.


2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (16) ◽  
pp. 3646-3659 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Adam Bohnert ◽  
Jun-Song Chen ◽  
Dawn M. Clifford ◽  
Craig W. Vander Kooi ◽  
Kathleen L. Gould

The chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) regulates various events in cell division. This complex is composed of a catalytic subunit, Aurora B kinase, and three nonenzymatic subunits, INCENP, Survivin, and Borealin. Together, these four subunits interdependently regulate CPC function, and they are highly conserved among eukaryotes. However, a Borealin homologue has never been characterized in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe . Here, we isolate a previously uncharacterized S. pombe protein through association with the Cdc14 phosphatase homologue, Clp1/Flp1, and identify it as a Borealin-like member of the CPC. Nbl1 (novel Borealin-like 1) physically associates with known CPC components, affects the kinase activity and stability of the S. pombe Aurora B homologue, Ark1, colocalizes with known CPC subunits during mitosis, and shows sequence similarity to human Borealin. Further analysis of the Clp1–Nbl1 interaction indicates that Clp1 requires CPC activity for proper accumulation at the contractile ring (CR). Consistent with this, we describe negative genetic interactions between mutant alleles of CPC and CR components. Thus, this study characterizes a fission yeast Borealin homologue and reveals a previously unrecognized connection between the CPC and the process of cytokinesis in S. pombe .


2011 ◽  
Vol 195 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni Petsalaki ◽  
Tonia Akoumianaki ◽  
Elizabeth J. Black ◽  
David A.F. Gillespie ◽  
George Zachos

Aurora B kinase activity is required for successful cell division. In this paper, we show that Aurora B is phosphorylated at serine 331 (Ser331) during mitosis and that phosphorylated Aurora B localizes to kinetochores in prometaphase cells. Chk1 kinase is essential for Ser331 phosphorylation during unperturbed prometaphase or during spindle disruption by taxol but not nocodazole. Phosphorylation at Ser331 is required for optimal phosphorylation of INCENP at TSS residues, for Survivin association with the chromosomal passenger complex, and for complete Aurora B activation, but it is dispensable for Aurora B localization to centromeres, for autophosphorylation at threonine 232, and for association with INCENP. Overexpression of Aurora BS331A, in which Ser331 is mutated to alanine, results in spontaneous chromosome missegregation, cell multinucleation, unstable binding of BubR1 to kinetochores, and impaired mitotic delay in the presence of taxol. We propose that Chk1 phosphorylates Aurora B at Ser331 to fully induce Aurora B kinase activity. These results indicate that phosphorylation at Ser331 is an essential mechanism for Aurora B activation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document