Structural basis for the subunit assembly of the anaphase-promoting complex

The anaphase-promoting complex or cyclosome (APC/C) is an unusually large E3 ubiquitin ligase responsible for regulating defined cell cycle transitions. Information on how its 13 constituent proteins are assembled, and how they interact with co-activators, substrates and regulatory proteins is limited. Here, we describe a recombinant expression system that allows the reconstitution of holo APC/C and its sub-complexes that, when combined with electron microscopy, mass spectrometry and docking of crystallographic and homology-derived coordinates, provides a precise definition of the organization and structure of all essential APC/C subunits, resulting in a pseudo-atomic model for 70% of the APC/C. A lattice-like appearance of the APC/C is generated by multiple repeat motifs of most APC/C subunits. Three conserved tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) subunits (Cdc16, Cdc23 and Cdc27) share related superhelical homo-dimeric architectures that assemble to generate a quasi-symmetrical structure. Our structure explains how this TPR sub-complex, together with additional scaffolding subunits (Apc1, Apc4 and Apc5), coordinate the juxtaposition of the catalytic and substrate recognition module (Apc2, Apc11 and Apc10 (also known as Doc1)), and TPR-phosphorylation sites, relative to co-activator, regulatory proteins and substrates.     

Ubiquitination by the anaphase-promoting complex drives spindle checkpoint inactivation

Eukaryotic cells rely on a surveillance mechanism known as the spindle checkpoint to ensure accurate chromosome segregation. The spindle checkpoint prevents sister chromatids from separating until all kinetochores achieve bipolar attachments to the mitotic spindle. Checkpoint proteins tightly inhibit the anaphase-promoting complex (APC), a ubiquitin ligase required for chromosome segregation and progression to anaphase. Unattached kinetochores promote the binding of checkpoint proteins Mad2 and BubR1 to the APC-activator Cdc20, rendering it unable to activate APC. Once all kinetochores are properly attached, however, cells inactivate the checkpoint within minutes, allowing for the rapid and synchronous segregation of chromosomes. How cells switch from strong APC inhibition before kinetochore attachment to rapid APC activation once attachment is complete remains a mystery. Here we show that checkpoint inactivation is an energy-consuming process involving APC-dependent multi-ubiquitination. Multi-ubiquitination by APC leads to the dissociation of Mad2 and BubR1 from Cdc20, a process that is reversed by a Cdc20-directed de-ubiquitinating enzyme. The mutual regulation between checkpoint proteins and APC leaves the cell poised for rapid checkpoint inactivation and ensures that chromosome segregation promptly follows the completion of kinetochore attachment. In addition, our results suggest a mechanistic basis for how cancer cells can have a compromised spindle checkpoint without corresponding mutations in checkpoint genes.     

Chk1 prevents abnormal mitosis of S-phase HeLa cells containing DNA damage

To explore effects of DNA damage on cell-cycle progression in p53-deficient tumor cells, synchronized HeLa cells at G1, S and G2/M phases were treated with methyl methanesulfnate （MMS）. The results showed that the MMS treatment resulted in the cell-cycle arrest or delay in all 3 phases, while the S-phase cells were the most sensitive to MMS. Further studies demonstrated that ATM-Chk2 and p38 MAPK signaling pathways were activated in all 3 phases when the cells were treated with MMS; whereas Chk1 was activated only in S phase under the drug treatment, indicating that Chk1 specifically participated in S-phase checkpoints. To analyze the role of Chk1 in S-phase checkpoints, we administered a specific Chk1 inhibitor, UCN-01, to the S-phase cells. The results showed that the S-phase cells treated with MMS＋UCN-01 could enter aberrant mitosis without finishing DNA replication, indicating that Chk1 mainly functions in the DNA damage checkpoint rather than in the replication checkpoint. In addition, MMS treatment alone inhibited the accumulation of cyclin B1, a key component of M-phase CDK-cyclin complex, in the S-phase cells, whereas the inhibition of Chk1 activation resulted in the accumulation of cyclin B1 in the MMS-treated S-phase cells. This observation further supports the view that DNA-damaged S-phase cells enter abnormal mitosis when Chk1 activation is inhibited. Our results demonstrate that Chk1 is a specific kinase that plays an important role in the MMS-induced S-phase DNA damage checkpoint. As p53 is not involved in this process, Chk1 may be a potential target for p53-deficient tumor therapy.     

Degradation of the SCF component Skp2 in cell-cycle phase G1 by the anaphase-promoting complex

Cell-cycle transitions are driven by waves of ubiquitin-dependent degradation of key cell-cycle regulators. SCF (Skp1/Cullin/F-box protein) complexes and anaphase-promoting complexes (APC) represent two major classes of ubiquitin ligases whose activities are thought to regulate primarily the G1/S and metaphase/anaphase cell-cycle transitions, respectively. The major target of the Skp1/Cul1/Skp2 (SCF(SKP2)) complex is thought to be the Cdk inhibitor p27 during S phase, whereas the principal targets for the APC are thought to be involved in chromatid separation (securin) and exit from mitosis (cyclin B). Although the role of the APC in mitosis is relatively clear, there is mounting evidence that APCs containing Cdh1 (APC(CDH1)) also have a function in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Here, we show that the F-box protein Skp2 is polyubiquitinated, and hence earmarked for destruction, by APC(CDH1). As a result, accumulation of SCF(SKP2) requires prior inactivation of APC(CDH1). These findings provide an insight into the orchestration of SCF and APC activities during cell-cycle progression, and into the involvement of the APC in G1.     

Tyrosine phosphorylation of the fission yeast cdc2+ protein kinase regulates entry into mitosis

The cdc2+ protein kinase (pp34) is found to be phosphorylated on tyrosine as well as serine and threonine residues in exponentially growing Schizosaccharomyces pombe. At mitosis, the level of pp34 phosphorylation on both threonine and tyrosine residues decreases. The single detectable site of tyrosine phosphorylation in pp34 has been mapped to Tyr 15, a residue within the presumptive ATP-binding domain. Substitution of this tyrosine by phenylalanine advances cells prematurely into mitosis, establishing that tyrosine phosphorylation/dephosphorylation directly regulates pp34 function.     

Epigenetic regulation of translation reveals hidden genetic variation to produce complex traits

Phenotypic plasticity and the exposure of hidden genetic variation both affect the survival and evolution of new traits, but their contributing molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. A single factor, the yeast prion [PSI(+)], may exert a profound effect on both. [PSI(+)] is a conserved, protein-based genetic element that is formed by a change in the conformation and function of the translation termination factor Sup35p, and is transmitted from mother to progeny. Curing cells of [PSI(+)] alters their survival in different growth conditions and produces a spectrum of phenotypes in different genetic backgrounds. Here we show, by examining three plausible explanations for this phenotypic diversity, that all traits tested involved [PSI(+)]-mediated read-through of nonsense codons. Notably, the phenotypes analysed were genetically complex, and genetic re-assortment frequently converted [PSI(+)]-dependent phenotypes to stable traits that persisted in the absence of [PSI(+)]. Thus, [PSI(+)] provides a temporary survival advantage under diverse conditions, increasing the likelihood that new traits will become fixed by subsequent genetic change. As an epigenetic mechanism that globally affects the relationship between genotype and phenotype, [PSI(+)] expands the conceptual framework for phenotypic plasticity, provides a one-step mechanism for the acquisition of complex traits and affords a route to the genetic assimilation of initially transient epigenetic traits.     

Regulation of p34CDC28 tyrosine phosphorylation is not required for entry into mitosis in S. cerevisiae.

Progression from G2 to M phase in eukaryotes requires activation of a protein kinase composed of p34cdc2/CDC28 associated with G1-specific cyclins. In some organisms the activation of the kinase at the G2/M boundary is due to dephosphorylation of a highly conserved tyrosine residue at position 15 (Y15) of the cdc2 protein. Here we report that in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, p34CDC28 also undergoes cell-cycle regulated dephosphorylation on an equivalent tyrosine residue (Y19). However, in contrast to previous observations in S. pombe, Xenopus and mammalian cells, dephosphorylation of Y19 is not required for the activation of the CDC28/cyclin kinase. Furthermore, mutation of this tyrosine residue does not affect dependence of mitosis on DNA synthesis nor does it abolish G2 arrest induced by DNA damage. Our data imply that regulated phosphorylation of this tyrosine residue is not the 'universal' means by which the onset of mitosis is determined. We propose that there are other unidentified controls that regulate entry into mitosis.     

Inhibition of mitosis by an antibody to the mitotic calcium transport system

Calcium ions are important in the regulation of mitotic apparatus assembly and in the control of chromosome movement. Changes in intracellular free calcium concentration, [Ca2+]i are achieved by an intracellular calcium-transport system which is highly conserved in different cell types. A membrane-bound protein of relative molecular mass (Mr) 46,000 (46K) is part of this transport system and has been implicated in the regulation of the [Ca2+]i changes associated with the course of mitosis. A monoclonal antibody against this 46K protein inhibits Ca2+-uptake into isolated Ca2+-sequestering membranes and specifically labels membranes associated with the mitotic apparatus of sea urchin embryos. Here we investigate the relationship between the intracellular calcium transport system and mitosis by injection of this monoclonal antibody into living mitotic sea urchin embryos. We find that after injection the intracellular free calcium increases up to 10(-6) M, the mitotic apparatus is rapidly destroyed and the cell is irreversibly blocked in its development.     

Fibrillarin redistributes to the spindle poles and partially colocalizes with NuMA during mitosis

Fibrillarin, a major protein in the nucleolus, is known to redistribute during mitosis from the nucleolus to the cytosol, and is related to the dynamics of post-mitotic reassembly of the nucleolus. To better understand the dynamic behavior and the relationship with other cytoplasmic structures, we have now expressed fibrillarin-pDsRed1 fusion protein in HeLa cells. The results showed that a part of fibrillarin was associated with mitotic spindle poles in the mitotic cells. Nocodazole-induced microtubule depolymerization resulted in fibrillarin redistribution throughout the cytoplasm, and removal of nocodazole resulted in relocalization of fibrillarin at the polar region during the mitotic spindles reassembly. In a mitotic cell free system, fibrillarin was found in the center of taxol-induced microtubule asters. Moreover, fibrillarin was found to colocalize with the nuclear mitotic apparatus protein (NuMA) at the poles of mitotic cells. Therefore, it is postulated that the polar redistribution of fibrillarin is mediated by microtubules.     

基于自主学习基础上的教师自主教学模式的探讨

外语界近来对学生的自主学习的讨论越来越热烈,随着网络教学的不断得到广泛应用,这种讨论的呼声越来越高。当然,学生的自主学习对培养他们独立自主的能力将起到重要作用。但同时,我们也应该重视建立在学生自主学习基础之上的教师自主教学,教师的自主教学对学生的自主学习将起到积极作用。基于此,本文讨论了教师自主教学的理论基础,以及教师自主教学的实践模式。     

mTORC1 in the Paneth cell niche couples intestinal stem-cell function to calorie intake

How adult tissue stem and niche cells respond to the nutritional state of an organism is not well understood. Here we find that Paneth cells, a key constituent of the mammalian intestinal stem-cell (ISC) niche, augment stem-cell function in response to calorie restriction. Calorie restriction acts by reducing mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signalling in Paneth cells, and the ISC-enhancing effects of calorie restriction can be mimicked by rapamycin. Calorie intake regulates mTORC1 in Paneth cells, but not ISCs, and forced activation of mTORC1 in Paneth cells during calorie restriction abolishes the ISC-augmenting effects of the niche. Finally, increased expression of bone stromal antigen 1 (Bst1) in Paneth cells—an ectoenzyme that produces the paracrine factor cyclic ADP ribose—mediates the effects of calorie restriction and rapamycin on ISC function. Our findings establish that mTORC1 non-cell-autonomously regulates stem-cell self-renewal, and highlight a significant role of the mammalian intestinal niche in coupling stem-cell function to organismal physiology.     

Oligomerization of STIM1 couples ER calcium depletion to CRAC channel activation

Ca(2+)-release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channels generate sustained Ca(2+) signals that are essential for a range of cell functions, including antigen-stimulated T lymphocyte activation and proliferation. Recent studies have revealed that the depletion of Ca(2+) from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) triggers the oligomerization of stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1), the ER Ca(2+) sensor, and its redistribution to ER-plasma membrane (ER-PM) junctions where the CRAC channel subunit ORAI1 accumulates in the plasma membrane and CRAC channels open. However, how the loss of ER Ca(2+) sets into motion these coordinated molecular rearrangements remains unclear. Here we define the relationships among [Ca(2+)](ER), STIM1 redistribution and CRAC channel activation and identify STIM1 oligomerization as the critical [Ca(2+)](ER)-dependent event that drives store-operated Ca(2+) entry. In human Jurkat leukaemic T cells expressing an ER-targeted Ca(2+) indicator, CRAC channel activation and STIM1 redistribution follow the same function of [Ca(2+)](ER), reaching half-maximum at approximately 200 microM with a Hill coefficient of approximately 4. Because STIM1 binds only a single Ca(2+) ion, the high apparent cooperativity suggests that STIM1 must first oligomerize to enable its accumulation at ER-PM junctions. To assess directly the causal role of STIM1 oligomerization in store-operated Ca(2+) entry, we replaced the luminal Ca(2+)-sensing domain of STIM1 with the 12-kDa FK506- and rapamycin-binding protein (FKBP12, also known as FKBP1A) or the FKBP-rapamycin binding (FRB) domain of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR, also known as FRAP1). A rapamycin analogue oligomerizes the fusion proteins and causes them to accumulate at ER-PM junctions and activate CRAC channels without depleting Ca(2+) from the ER. Thus, STIM1 oligomerization is the critical transduction event through which Ca(2+) store depletion controls store-operated Ca(2+) entry, acting as a switch that triggers the self-organization and activation of STIM1-ORAI1 clusters at ER-PM junctions.