THE SPINDLE CHECKPOINT: STRUCTURAL INSIGHTS INTO DYNAMIC SIGNALLING Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 3, No 10, 731-741 (2002) | |
Chromosome segregation is a complex and astonishingly accurate process whose inner working is beginning to be understood at the molecular level. The spindle checkpoint plays a key role in ensuring the fidelity of this process. It monitors the interactions between chromosomes and
microtubules, and delays mitotic progression to allow extra time to
correct defects. Here, we review and integrate findings on the dynamics of
checkpoint proteins at kinetochores with structural information about
signalling complexes.
(Рис.1.) | Key steps in the regulation of mitotic progression. (Рис.2.) | Kinetochores and checkpoint signalling. (Рис.3.) | Structural insights into Mad2 function. (Табл.1) | Checkpoint components and complexes Boxes(Вох 1) | Checkpoints Box 2 | Checkpoint kinases and phosphorylation Genetic studies in budding yeast have implied that the Mps1 and Bub1 kinases act at or near the top of the checkpoint pathway, because the overexpression of either wild-type (MPS1) or mutant (BUB1–5) forms of their genes requires all other Mad and Bub proteins to induce a metaphase arrest. Surprisingly, the importance of the kinase domains for Bub1 and BubR1 checkpoint function has been brought into doubt. In Xenopus laevis egg extracts, kinase-dead proteins can efficiently rescue immunodepleted extracts>; kinase-dead human BubR1 efficiently inhibits the anaphase-promoting complex (APC) in vitro; and, in budding yeast, a kinase-dead bub1 mutant is capable of robust checkpoint function. Yeast Mad3 proteins lack the carboxy-terminal kinase domain found in their vertebrate BubR1 homologue. It remains to be shown whether the Bub/BubR1 kinase activities do have checkpoint roles, perhaps in the amplification of subtle defects or maintenance of prolonged checkpoint arrests. Mps1 kinase activity is clearly required for spindle-checkpoint function. Most of the checkpoint proteins are phosphorylated (Mad1 , Mad2, BubR1, Bub1 and Mps1 ) but, in general, it is not known where this takes place or whether it is important for checkpoint function. It has been shown that the hyperphosphorylated forms of Bub1 and BubR1 are enriched on chromosomes and that this modification depends on Mad1 but not on Mad2 . Box 3 | Spindle-checkpoint defects and disease Genetic defects in the spindle checkpoint lead to chromosome loss during mitosis and meiosis, and could therefore be a cause of aneuploidy and birth defects. In budding yeast, the Mad and Bub proteins do not contribute equally to chromosome segregation fidelity. Deletion of either Bub1 or Bub3 has the greatest effect, and these two proteins might have roles in chromosome segregation in addition to their checkpoint function. Although the spindle checkpoint is not essential for growth in yeast, the two reported mouse knockouts (Mad2 and Bub3) have revealed that it is required for embryonic viability in mammals. After embryonic day 5 or 6, cells of these embryos accumulate mitotic errors and undergo apoptosis. Why is the spindle checkpoint essential in mammals? Disrupting Bub1 and Mad2 function (with dominant alleles or antibodies) has been shown to accelerate mitotic exit in vertebrate cells. Such shortened mitoses probably have increased error rates and lead to aneuploidy. In Caenorhabditis elegans, embryogenesis and larval development can proceed in the absence of spindle-checkpoint function. However, there are so many segregational errors that the worms are sterile and short-lived. Similarly, in Drosophila, loss of bub1 function results in an accumulation of mitotic abnormalities and lethality at the larva–pupa transition. Although checkpoint nulls are unlikely to be observed in humans, haploinsufficiency of one checkpoint component (Mad2) has been reported, with very interesting phenotypes. Deletion of one Mad2 allele results in a defective checkpoint in human cancer cells and primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts, and Mad2+/- mice are susceptible to lung cancer in later life. Bub1 and BubR1 mutations have also been reported to co-operate with BRCA2 deficiency in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. In addition, dominant Bub1 mutants were suggested to be responsible for the chromosome-instability phenotype of certain colorectal cancer cell lines, although this finding has recently been disputed because the cell lines that harbour these mutations have been found to be capable of quite a robust checkpoint response. It is likely that additional mutations within these cell lines, such as the commonly found truncations of the adenomatous polyposis coli protein, also contribute to chromosomal instability.
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APC | checkpoint | MCC |