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F C Luca

Publications and source records attributed to F C Luca.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mob1p is required for cytokinesis and mitotic exit.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitotic exit network (MEN) is a conserved set of genes that mediate the transition from mitosis to G(1) by regulating mitotic cyclin degradation and the inactivation of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK). Here, we demonstrate that, in addition to mitotic exit, S. cerevisiae MEN gene MOB1 is required for cytokinesis and cell separation. The cytokinesis defect was evident in mob1 mutants under conditions in which there was no mitotic-exit defect. Observation of live cells showed that yeast myosin II, Myo1p, was present in the contractile ring at the bud neck but that the ring failed to contract and disassemble. The cytokinesis defect persisted for several mitotic cycles, resulting in chains of cells with correctly segregated nuclei but with uncontracted actomyosin rings. The cytokinesis proteins Cdc3p (a septin), actin, and Iqg1p/ Cyk1p (an IQGAP-like protein) appeared to correctly localize in mob1 mutants, suggesting that MOB1 functions subsequent to actomyosin ring assembly. We also examined the subcellular distribution of Mob1p during the cell cycle and found that Mob1p first localized to the spindle pole bodies during mid-anaphase and then localized to a ring at the bud neck just before and during cytokinesis. Localization of Mob1p to the bud neck required CDC3, MEN genes CDC5, CDC14, CDC15, and DBF2, and spindle pole body gene NUD1 but was independent of MYO1. The localization of Mob1p to both spindle poles was abolished in cdc15 and nud1 mutants and was perturbed in cdc5 and cdc14 mutants. These results suggest that the MEN functions during the mitosis-to-G(1) transition to control cyclin-CDK inactivation and cytokinesis.

Actins↗
PubMed1998

MOB1, an essential yeast gene required for completion of mitosis and maintenance of ploidy.

Mob1p is an essential Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein, identified from a two-hybrid screen, that binds Mps1p, a protein kinase essential for spindle pole body duplication and mitotic checkpoint regulation. Mob1p contains no known structural motifs; however MOB1 is a member of a conserved gene family and shares sequence similarity with a nonessential yeast gene, MOB2. Mob1p is a phosphoprotein in vivo and a substrate for the Mps1p kinase in vitro. Conditional alleles of MOB1 cause a late nuclear division arrest at restrictive temperature. MOB1 exhibits genetic interaction with three other yeast genes required for the completion of mitosis, LTE1, CDC5, and CDC15 (the latter two encode essential protein kinases). Most haploid mutant mob1 strains also display a complete increase in ploidy at permissive temperature. The mechanism for the increase in ploidy may occur through MPS1 function. One mob1 strain, which maintains stable haploidy at both permissive and restrictive temperature, diploidizes at permissive temperature when combined with the mps1-1 mutation. Strains containing mob2Delta also display a complete increase in ploidy when combined with the mps1-1 mutation. Perhaps in addition to, or as part of, its essential function in late mitosis, MOB1 is required for a cell cycle reset function necessary for the initiation of the spindle pole body duplication.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

DBF2 protein kinase binds to and acts through the cell cycle-regulated MOB1 protein.

The DBF2 gene of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a cell cycle-regulated protein kinase that plays an important role in the telophase/G1 transition. As a component of the multisubunit CCR4 transcriptional complex, DBF2 is also involved in the regulation of gene expression. We have found that MOB1, an essential protein required for a late mitotic event in the cell cycle, genetically and physically interacts with DBF2. DBF2 binds MOB1 in vivo and can bind it in vitro in the absence of other yeast proteins. We found that the expression of MOB1 is also cell cycle regulated, its expression peaking slightly before that of DBF2 at the G2/M boundary. While overexpression of DBF2 suppressed phenotypes associated with mob1 temperature-sensitive alleles, it could not suppress a mob1 deletion. In contrast, overexpression of MOB1 suppressed phenotypes associated with a dbf2-deleted strain and suppressed the lethality associated with a dbf2 dbf20 double deletion. A mob1 temperature-sensitive allele with a dbf2 disruption was also found to be synthetically lethal. These results are consistent with DBF2 acting through MOB1 and aiding in its function. Moreover, the ability of temperature-sensitive mutated versions of the MOB1 protein to interact with DBF2 was severely reduced, confirming that binding of DBF2 to MOB1 is required for a late mitotic event. While MOB1 and DBF2 were found to be capable of physically associating in a complex that did not include CCR4, MOB1 did interact with other components of the CCR4 transcriptional complex. We discuss models concerning the role of DBF2 and MOB1 in controlling the telophase/G1 transition.

Alleles↗
PubMed1996

Activation of the budding yeast spindle assembly checkpoint without mitotic spindle disruption.

The spindle assembly checkpoint keeps cells with defective spindles from initiating chromosome segregation. The protein kinase Mps1 phosphorylates the yeast protein Mad1p when this checkpoint is activated, and the overexpression of Mps1p induces modification of Mad1p and arrests wild-type yeast cells in mitosis with morphologically normal spindles. Spindle assembly checkpoint mutants overexpressing Mps1p pass through mitosis without delay and can produce viable progeny, which demonstrates that the arrest of wild-type cells results from inappropriate activation of the checkpoint in cells whose spindle is fully functional. Ectopic activation of cell-cycle checkpoints might be used to exploit the differences in checkpoint status between normal and tumor cells and thus improve the selectivity of chemotherapy.

Carrier Proteins↗
PubMed1995

Yeast spindle pole body duplication gene MPS1 encodes an essential dual specificity protein kinase.

The MPS1 gene has been previously identified by a mutant allele that shows defects in spindle pole body (SPB) duplication and cell cycle control. The SPB is the centrosome-equivalent organelle in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and it nucleates all the microtubules in the cell. We report the isolation of the MPS1 gene, which encodes an essential protein kinase homolog. The MPS1 open reading frame has been fused to those that encode the LexA protein or the GST protein and both of these constructs function in yeast. The fusion proteins have been affinity-purified from yeast extracts and the GST chimeric protein has been found to be a phosphoprotein. Both proteins have been used to demonstrate intrinsic in vitro protein kinase activity of Mps1p against exogenous substrates and itself (autophosphorylation). A mutation predicted to abolish kinase function not only eliminates in vitro protein kinase activity, but also behaves like a null mutation in vivo, suggesting that kinase activity contributes to the essential function of the protein. Phosphoamino acid analysis of substrates phosphorylated by Mps1p indicates that this kinase can phosphorylate serine, threonine and tyrosine residues, identifying Mps1p as a dual specificity protein kinase.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

The cyclosome, a large complex containing cyclin-selective ubiquitin ligase activity, targets cyclins for destruction at the end of mitosis.

The ubiquitin-mediated degradation of mitotic cyclins is required for cells to exit from mitosis. Previous work with cell-free systems has revealed four components required for cyclin-ubiquitin ligation and proteolysis: a nonspecific ubiquitin-activating enzyme E1, a soluble fraction containing a ubiquitin carrier protein activity called E2-C, a crude particulate fraction containing a ubiquitin ligase (E3) activity that is activated during M-phase, and a constitutively active 26S proteasome that degrades ubiquitinated proteins. Here, we identify a novel approximately 1500-kDa complex, termed the cyclosome, which contains a cyclin-selective ubiquitin ligase activity, E3-C. E3-C is present but inactive during interphase; it can be activated in vitro by the addition of cdc2, enabling the transfer of ubiquitin from E2-C to cyclin. The kinetics of E3-C activation suggest the existence of one or more intermediates between cdc2 and E3-C. Cyclosome-associated E3-C acts on both cyclin A and B, and requires the presence of wild-type N-terminal destruction box motifs in each cyclin. Ubiquitinated cyclins are then rapidly recognized and degraded by the proteasome. These results identify the cyclosome-associated E3-C as the component of the cyclin destruction machinery whose activity is ultimately regulated by cdc2 and, as such, the element directly responsible for setting mitotic cyclin levels during early embryonic cell cycles.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Components of a system that ligates cyclin to ubiquitin and their regulation by the protein kinase cdc2.

Cyclin B, a positive regulatory subunit of the cdc2 protein kinase complex, is synthesized across the cell cycle and then rapidly degraded at the end of mitosis. Degradation of cyclin B is triggered by increased levels of active cdc2 and is required for exit from mitosis. It was shown previously that cyclin degradation is carried out by the ubiquitin system, but the components responsible for the specificity and regulation of cyclin-ubiquitin ligation have not been identified. The formation of ubiquitin-protein conjugates usually requires the sequential action of three enzymes: a ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1), a ubiquitin-carrier protein (E2), and a ubiquitin-protein ligase (E3). In this work we employed a fractionation approach to identify the components of a clam oocyte system responsible for specific ubiquitination of cyclin and to determine which components are regulated by cdc2. Experimental conditions were established under which a fusion protein containing an amino-terminal fragment of cyclin B is ligated to ubiquitin only in extracts from M-phase but not from interphase cells. Fractionation of M-phase extracts by DEAE-cellulose and high speed centrifugation yielded three fractions that were all required for cell cycle stage-specific cyclin-ubiquitin ligation. Only one of these fractions could be replaced by a previously known enzyme of the ubiquitin system, E1. A second fraction contained a novel species of E2, termed E2-C, which acts in the ligation of ubiquitin to cyclin but not to other endogenous proteins. A third component is associated with particulate material. Whereas E2-C from either M-phase or interphase extracts is active, the particulate component is active only in M-phase. Incubation of the particulate fraction from interphase cells with the protein kinase cdc2 activates it for cyclin-ubiquitin ligation, after a lag of about 30 min. These findings suggest that the particulate fraction may contain an E3 enzyme that acts on cyclin, as well as additional factors activated by cdc2.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

The requirements for protein synthesis and degradation, and the control of destruction of cyclins A and B in the meiotic and mitotic cell cycles of the clam embryo.

Fertilization of clam oocytes initiates a series of cell divisions, of which the first three--meiosis I, meiosis II, and the first mitotic division--are highly synchronous. After fertilization, protein synthesis is required for the successful completion of every division except meiosis I. When protein synthesis is inhibited, entry into meiosis I and the maintenance of M phase for the normal duration of meiosis occur normally, but the chromosomes fail to interact correctly with the spindle in meiosis II metaphase. By contrast, inhibition of protein synthesis immediately after completion of meiosis or mitosis stops cells entering the next mitosis. We describe the behavior of cyclins A and B in relation to these "points of no return." The cyclins are synthesized continuously and are rapidly destroyed shortly before the metaphase-anaphase transition of the mitotic cell cycles, with cyclin A being degraded in advance of cyclin B. Cyclin destruction normally occurs during a 5-min window in mitosis, but in the monopolar mitosis that occurs after parthenogenetic activation of clam oocytes, or when colchicine is added to fertilized eggs about to enter first mitosis, the destruction of cyclin B is strongly delayed, whereas proteolysis of cyclin A is maintained in an activated state for the duration of metaphase arrest. Under either of these abnormal conditions, inhibition of protein synthesis causes a premature return to interphase that correlates with the time when cyclin B disappears.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Both cyclin A delta 60 and B delta 97 are stable and arrest cells in M-phase, but only cyclin B delta 97 turns on cyclin destruction.

Previous work has established that destruction of cyclin B is necessary for exit from mitosis and entry into the next interphase. Sea urchin cyclin B lacking an N-terminal domain is stable, permanently activates cdc2 kinase, resulting in mitotic arrest, and permanently activates the destruction pathway acting on full length cyclin B. Here we have compared the properties of clam cyclins A and B lacking related N-terminal domains. Both cyclin A delta 60 and B delta 97 bind to cdc2 kinase, keep it hyperactivated and block the completion of mitosis. By adding purified delta cyclin proteins to a cell-free system at different cell cycle times, we find that when the cell-free system reaches the cyclin destruction point in the presence of either A delta 60 or B delta 97, the cyclin destruction pathway acting on full length cyclins fails to be turned off. However, the two cyclins differ dramatically in their ability to turn on cyclin destruction. When added to emetine-arrested interphase lysates devoid of endogenous cyclins, only cyclin B delta 97 activates the cyclin destruction system; cyclin A delta 60 does not. This functional difference between the two cyclin types, the first to be described, provides strong support for the idea that the two cyclins have different roles in the cell cycle and suggests that one specialized role of the cyclin B-cdc2 complex is to activate the cyclin destruction pathway and drive cells into interphase of the next cell cycle.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Control of programmed cyclin destruction in a cell-free system.

To ask what controls the periodic accumulation and destruction of the mitotic across the cell cycle, we have developed a cell-free system from clam embryos that reproduces several aspects of cyclin behavior. One or more rounds of cyclin proteolysis and resynthesis occur in vitro, and the destruction of the cyclins is highly specific. The onset, duration, and extent of cyclin destruction and the appropriately stagered disappearance of cyclin A and cyclin B are correctly regulated during the first cycle in the cell-free system. Just as in intact cells, lysates made from early interphase cells require further protein synthesis to reach the cyclin destruction point, and lysates made from later stages do not. Using the cell-free system we show that cyclin disappearance requires ATP and Mg2+. By combining lysates from different cell cycle stages, we show that (a) interphase lysates do not contain a dominant inhibitor of cyclin destruction and (b) the timing of cyclin destruction is determined by the cell cycle stage of the cytoplasm rather than the cell cycle stage of the substrate cyclins themselves. Among a large variety of agents tested, only a few affect cyclin destruction. Tosyl-lysine chlormethyl ketone (TLCK, a protease inhibitor), 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP, a kinase inhibitor), certain sulfhydryl-blocking agents, ZnCl2 and EDTA (but not EGTA) completely block cyclin destruction in vitro. Addition of 1 mM Ca2+ to the cell-free system has no effect on cyclin stability, but 5 mM Ca2+ leads to the rapid destruction of cyclins and a small number of other proteins.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1986

A monoclonal antibody that cross-reacts with phosphorylated epitopes on two microtubule-associated proteins and two neurofilament polypeptides.

A monoclonal antibody is described that was raised against bovine brain microtubule-associated protein (MAP) 1B. Immunoblot analysis revealed that immunoreactivity was abolished by dephosphorylation of the antigen. The antigen/antibody reaction was also directly inhibited by sodium phosphate. In whole brain tissue, MAP 1B was the primary immunoreactive species. However, the antibody was also found to react with MAP 1A as well as with the high and middle molecular weight neurofilament polypeptides. No cross-reaction with MAP 2, which is known to be extensively phosphorylated, other MAPs, or the low molecular weight neurofilament polypeptide was observed. This evidence suggests at least some sequence homology between these different polypeptide components of the neuronal cytoskeleton and points to a common mechanism for their phosphorylation.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Isolation of mitotic microtubule-associated proteins from sea urchin eggs.

We have used a taxol-based microtubule purification procedure and monoclonal antibodies to isolate and characterize the MAPs of mitotic spindle microtubules in the fertilized sea urchin egg. In so doing, we hope to have identified some of the essential working parts of the mitotic apparatus, namely those proteins that regulate the assembly, disassembly, organization and mechanochemical properties of spindle microtubules. The results of this effort strongly suggest that a rich diversity of polypeptides associate with mitotic spindle microtubules. Whether each of these represents an individual protein species is not currently known. It is possible, for example, that particular spindle MAPs comprise multiple, distinct subunits. This would not be surprising in light of the facts that both MAP-1 and MAP-2 contain lower molecular weight subunits, and that axonemal dyneins are complex assemblies of several polypeptide species. Our future efforts with the sea urchin system will be to determine how the various mitotic spindle MAPs we have identified function individually and in concert, and how those functions contribute to the mechanochemical properties of the spindle.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Identification of high molecular weight microtubule-associated proteins in anterior pituitary tissue and cells using taxol-dependent purification combined with microtubule-associated protein specific antibodies.

The composition of microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) in pituitary tissue and in a cultured pituitary cell line was examined. To isolate MAPs from the tissue, we modified our previously described taxol-dependent method for purifying microtubules and MAPs [Vallee, R. B. (1982) J. Cell Biol. 92, 435-442]. Microtubules were assembled from purified calf brain tubulin with the aid of taxol and were then added to a cytosolic extract of pituitary tissue which did not support microtubule assembly from endogenous tubulin. Pituitary MAPs bound to the microtubules and were isolated by centrifugation. Polypeptides corresponding in electrophoretic mobility to the component proteins of MAP 1 were among the major MAPs observed. Immunoblotting of the pituitary MAP fraction revealed the presence of appreciable quantities of MAP 1A, MAP 1B, and MAP 2 polypeptides. Microtubules were also prepared from GH3 rat pituitary tumor cells by using a slight modification of our previously described taxol procedure. Immunoblotting indicated once again that MAP 1A, MAP 1B, and MAP 2 were included among the MAPs. These results were further confirmed by immunofluorescence microscopy of GH3 cells and sections of rat anterior pituitary tissue. Thus, we have identified the first system other than brain containing significant levels of several of the high molecular weight MAPs characteristic of brain tissue, suggesting that microtubules in neurons and secretory cells may be involved in at least some related functions. In addition, we now have available preparations of both secretory tissue and secretory cell line microtubules for further in vitro investigation of the interaction of microtubules with secretory granules.

Alkaloids↗
PubMed1985

Use of multiple monoclonal antibodies to characterize the major microtubule-associated protein in sea urchin eggs.

Microtubules assembled from sea urchin eggs with the use of taxol contain a 77,000-dalton protein as the major nontubulin component [Vallee and Bloom (1983): Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80:6259-6263]. We have raised five monoclonal antibodies to this protein to aid in its characterization. Immunoblot analysis of the sea urchin microtubule purification fractions indicated that the protein copurified quantitatively with microtubules. All five antibodies stained the mitotic spindle of dividing sea urchin eggs by immunofluorescence microscopy, indicating that the protein was a component of the mitotic spindle and suggesting that it was actually localized on microtubules in vivo. Immunofluorescent staining of higher resolution was observed in a subpopulation of the coelomic cells found in adult sea urchins, confirming that the 77,000-dalton protein is indeed present on microtubules in vivo. Because taxol was not used for the immunofluorescence experiments, we conclude that the microtubule-associated protein (MAP)-like behavior of the 77,000-dalton protein in vitro was not induced artifactually by taxol. To determine whether this protein is a component of sea urchin microtubules in general, cilia obtained from blastula stage embryos and sperm tail flagella were analyzed with the antibodies. The protein was undetectable by both immunoblot analysis and immunofluorescence microscopy in both preparations of axonemal microtubules. These results indicated that the 77,000-dalton MAP is restricted to cytoplasmic and mitotic microtubules in the sea urchin. Furthermore, in view of its particular abundance in embryos, whose microtubules are devoted substantially to mitosis, the 77,000-dalton MAP is likely to play an important role in regulating the activity of mitotic spindle microtubules in the sea urchin.

Alkaloids↗
PubMed1985

Microtubule-associated protein 1B: identification of a major component of the neuronal cytoskeleton.

The major nontubulin proteins in purified brain microtubules are high molecular weight species traditionally classified into two groups known as microtubule-associated proteins 1 and 2 (MAP 1 and MAP 2). In an earlier study, we found that MAP 1 consisted of a complex of polypeptides and we characterized the highest molecular weight species--MAP 1A--with the use of a monoclonal antibody. In the current report, we describe four monoclonal antibodies raised against electrophoretically purified MAP 1B. All of the antibodies reacted exclusively with this protein. Together with peptide mapping, these results indicated that MAP 1B was structurally distinct from the other MAPs. Another distinctive property of MAP 1B was that most of it remained soluble during microtubule polymerization, resulting in an extreme underestimate of its abundance in the brain. Immunofluorescence microscopy of rat brain sections and cultured rat brain cells indicated that compared to MAP 1A and MAP 2, MAP 1B was particularly prominent in axonal as well as dendritic processes. Together, these data indicate that MAP 1B is a major, previously undescribed component of the neuronal cytoskeleton.

Animals↗