Localization of the rap1GAP catalytic domain and sites of phosphorylation by mutational analysis.

rap1GAP is a GTPase-activating protein that specifically stimulates the GTP hydrolytic rate of p21rap1. We have defined the catalytic domain of rap1GAP by constructing a series of cDNAs coding for mutant proteins progressively deleted at the amino- and carboxy-terminal ends. Analysis of the purified mutant proteins shows that of 663 amino acid residues, only amino acids 75 to 416 are necessary for full GAP activity. Further truncation at the amino terminus resulted in complete loss of catalytic activity, whereas removal of additional carboxy-terminal residues dramatically accelerated the degradation of the protein in vivo. The catalytic domain we have defined excludes the region of rap1GAP which undergoes phosphorylation on serine residues. We have further defined this phosphoacceptor region of rap1GAP by introducing point mutations at specific serine residues and comparing the phosphopeptide maps of the mutant proteins. Two of the sites of phosphorylation by cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent kinase were localized to serine residues 490 and 499, and one site of phosphorylation by p34cdc2 was localized to serine 484. In vivo, rap1GAP undergoes phosphorylation at four distinct sites, two of which appear to be identical to the sites phosphorylated by cAMP-dependent kinase in vitro.     

Human Wee1 kinase inhibits cell division by phosphorylating p34cdc2 exclusively on Tyr15.

In fission yeast, the M-phase inducing kinase, a complex of p34cdc2 and cyclin B, is maintained in an inhibited state during interphase due to the phosphorylation of Cdc2 at Tyr15. This phosphorylation is believed to be carried out primarily by the Wee1 kinase. In human cells the negative regulation of p34cdc2/cyclin B is more complex, in that Cdc2 is phosphorylated at two inhibitory sites, Thr14 and Tyr15. The identities of the kinases that phosphorylate these sites are unknown. Since fission yeast Wee1 kinase behaves as a dual-specificity kinase in vitro, a popular hypothesis is that a human Wee1 homolog might phosphorylate p34cdc2 at both sites. We report here that a human gene, identified as a possible Wee1 homologue, blocks cell division when overexpressed in HeLa cells. This demonstrates functional conservation of the Wee1 mitotic inhibitor. Contrary to the dual-specificity kinase hypothesis, purified human Wee1 phosphorylates p34cdc2 exclusively on Tyr15 in vitro; no Thr14 phosphorylation was detected. Human and fission yeast Wee1 also specifically phosphorylate synthetic peptides at sites equivalent to Tyr15. Mutation of a critical lysine codon (Lys114) believed to be essential for kinase activity abolished both the in vivo mitotic inhibitor function and in vitro kinase activities of human Wee1. These results conclusively prove that Wee1 kinases inhibit mitosis by directly phosphorylating p34cdc2 on Tyr15, and strongly indicate that human cells have independent kinase pathways directing the two inhibitor phosphorylations of p34cdc2.     

Mitogen-activated protein kinases phosphorylate nuclear lamins and display sequence specificity overlapping that of mitotic protein kinase p34cdc2.

Members of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase family are implicated in mediating entry of cells into the cell cycle, as well as passage through meiotic M phase. These kinases have attracted much interest because their activation involves phosphorylation on both tyrosine and threonine residues, but little is known about their physiological targets. In this study, two distinct members of the MAP kinase family (p44mpk and p42mapk) are shown to phosphorylate chicken lamin B2 at a single site identified as Ser16. Moreover, these MAP kinases cause depolymerization of in-vitro-assembled longitudinal lamin head-to-tail polymers. Ser16 was previously shown to be phosphorylated during mitosis in vivo, and to be a target of the mitotic protein kinase p34cdc2 in vitro. Accordingly, lamins were proposed to be direct in vivo substrates of p34cdc2. This proposal is supported by quantitative analyses indicating that lamin B2, when assayed in vitro, is a substantially better substrate for p34cdc2 than for MAP kinases. Nevertheless, a physiological role of MAP kinases in lamin phosphorylation is not excluded. The observation that members of the MAP kinase family display sequence specificities overlapping that of p34cdc2 raises the possibility that some of the purported substrates of p34cdc2 may actually be physiological substrates of MAP kinases.     

High-mobility-group proteins P1, I and Y as substrates of the M-phase-specific p34cdc2/cyclincdc13 kinase

All dividing cells entering the M phase of the cell cycle undergo the transient activation of an M-phase-specific histone H1 kinase which was recently shown to be constituted of at least two subunits, p34cdc2 and cyclincdc13. The DNA-binding high-mobility-group (HMG) proteins 1, 2, 14, 17, I, Y and an HMG-like protein, P1, were investigated as potential substrates of H1 kinase. Among these HMG proteins, P1 and HMG I and Y are excellent substrates of the M-phase-specific kinase obtained from both meiotic starfish oocytes and mitotic sea urchin eggs. Anticyclin immunoprecipitates, extracts purified on specific p34cdc2-binding p13suc1-Sepharose and affinity-purified H1 kinase display strong HMG I, Y and P1 phosphorylating activities, demonstrating that the p34cdc2/cyclincdc13 complex is the active kinase phosphorylating these HMG proteins. HMG I and P1 phosphorylation is competitively inhibited by a peptide mimicking the consensus phosphorylation sequence of H1 kinase. HMG I, Y and P1 all possess the consensus sequence for phosphorylation by the p34cdc2/cyclincdc13 kinase (Ser/Thr-Pro-Xaa-Lys/Arg). HMG I is phosphorylated in vivo at M phase on the same sites phosphorylated in vitro by H1 kinase. P1 is phosphorylated by H1 kinase on sites different from the sites of phosphorylation by casein kinase II. The three thermolytic phosphopeptides of P1 phosphorylated in vitro by purified H1 kinase are all present in thermolytic peptide maps of P1 phosphorylated in vivo in proliferating HeLa cells. These phosphopeptides are absent in nonproliferating cells. These results demonstrate that the DNA-binding proteins HMG I, Y and P1 are natural substrates for the M-phase-specific protein kinase. The phosphorylation of these proteins by p34cdc2/cyclincdc13 may represent a crucial event in the intense chromatin condensation occurring as cells transit from the G2 to the M phase of the cell cycle.     

Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 (MKK1) is negatively regulated by threonine phosphorylation.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 (MKK1), a dual-specificity tyrosine/threonine protein kinase, has been shown to be phosphorylated and activated by the raf oncogene product as part of the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade. Here we report the phosphorylation and inactivation of MKK1 by phosphorylation on threonine 286 and threonine 292. MKK1 contains a consensus phosphorylation site for p34cdc2, a serine/threonine protein kinase that regulates the cell division cycle, at Thr-286 and a related site at Thr-292. p34cdc2 catalyzes the in vitro phosphorylation of MKK1 on both of these threonine residues and inactivates MKK1 enzymatic activity. Both sites are phosphorylated in vivo as well. The data presented in this report provide evidence that MKK1 is negatively regulated by threonine phosphorylation.     

p34cdc2 is physically associated with and phosphorylated by a cdc2-specific tyrosine kinase.

The mammalian homologue of the yeast cdc2 gene encodes a 34-kilodalton serine/threonine kinase that is a subunit of M phase-promoting factor. Recent studies have shown that p34cdc2 is also a major tyrosine-phosphorylated protein in HeLa cells and that its phosphotyrosine content is cell cycle regulated and related to its kinase activity. Here, we show that cdc2 is physically associated with and phosphorylated in vitro by a highly specific tyrosine kinase. Tyrosine phosphorylation of cdc2 in vitro occurs at tyrosine 15, the same site that is phosphorylated in vivo. The association between the two kinases takes place in the cytosolic compartment and involves cyclin B-associated cdc2. Evidence is presented that a substantial fraction of cytosolic cdc2 is hypophosphorylated, whereas nuclear cdc2 is hyperphosphorylated. Finally, we show that the tyrosine kinase associated with cdc2 may be a 67-kilodalton protein and is distinct from src, abl, fms, and other previously reported tyrosine kinases.     

M-phase-specific phosphorylation and structural rearrangement of the cytoplasmic cross-linking protein plectin involve p34cdc2 kinase.

Plectin, a widespread and abundant cytoskeletal cross-linking protein, serves as a target for protein kinases throughout the cell cycle, without any significant variation in overall phosphorylation level. One of the various phosphorylation sites of the molecule was found to be phosphorylated preferentially during mitosis. By in vivo phosphorylation of ectopically expressed plectin domains in stably transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells, this site was mapped to the C-terminal repeat 6 domain of the polypeptide. The same site has been identified as an in vitro target for p34cdc2 kinase. Mitosis-specific phosphorylation of plectin was accompanied by a rearrangement of plectin structures, changing from a filamentous, largely vimentin-associated state in interphase to a diffuse vimentin-independent distribution in mitosis as visualized by immunofluorescence microscopy. Subcellular fractionation studies showed that in interphase cells up to 80% of cellular plectin was found associated with an insoluble cell fraction mostly consisting of intermediate filaments, while during mitosis the majority of plectin (> 75%) became soluble. Furthermore, phosphorylation of purified plectin by p34cdc2 kinase decreased plectin's ability to interact with preassembled vimentin filaments in vitro. Together, our data suggest that a mitosis-specific phosphorylation involving p34cdc2 kinase regulates plectin's cross-linking activities and association with intermediate filaments during the cell cycle.     

Mammalian growth-associated H1 histone kinase: a homolog of cdc2+/CDC28 protein kinases controlling mitotic entry in yeast and frog cells.

Mammalian growth-associated H1 histone kinase, an enzyme whose activity is sharply elevated at mitosis, is similar to cdc2+ protein kinase from Schizosaccharomyces pombe and CDC28 protein kinase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae with respect to immunoreactivity, molecular size, and specificity for phosphorylation sites in H1 histone. Phosphorylation of specific growth-associated sites in H1 histone is catalyzed by yeast cdc2+/CDC28 kinase, as shown by the in vitro thermal lability of this activity in extracts prepared from temperature-sensitive mutants. In addition, highly purified Xenopus maturation-promoting factor catalyzes phosphorylation of the same sites in H1 as do the mammalian and yeast kinases. The data indicate that growth-associated H1 kinase is encoded by a mammalian homolog of cdc2+/CDC28 protein kinase, which controls entry into mitosis in yeast and frog cells. Since H1 histone is known to be an in vivo substrate of the mammalian kinase, this suggests that phosphorylation of H1 histone or an H1 histone counterpart is an important component of the mechanism for entry of cells into mitosis.     

Casein kinase II phosphorylates p34cdc2 kinase in G1 phase of the HeLa cell division cycle.

The activity of p34cdc2 kinase is regulated in the phases of vertebrate cell cycle by mechanisms of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation. In this paper, we demonstrate that casein kinase II (CKII) phosphorylates p34cdc2 in vivo and in vitro at Ser39 during the G1 phase of HeLa cell division cycle. Human p34cdc2 shows a typical phosphorylation sequence motif site for CKII at Ser39 (ES39EEE). In our experiments, either p34cdc2 expressed and purified from bacteria or p34cdc2 immunoprecipitated from HeLa cells enriched in G1 by elutriation were substrates for in vitro phosphorylation by CKII. Phosphoamino acid analysis, N-chlorosuccinimide mapping, and two-dimensional tryptic mapping of p34cdc2 phosphorylated in vitro were performed to determine the phosphorylation site. A synthetic peptide spanning residues 33-50 of human p34cdc2, including the CKII site, was used to map the site. In addition, phosphorylation at Ser39 also occurs in vivo, since p34cdc2 is phosphorylated during G1 on serine, and its two-dimensional tryptic map shows two phosphopeptides that comigrate exactly with the synthetic peptides used as standard.     

The retinoblastoma protein is phosphorylated on multiple sites by human cdc2.

The retinoblastoma gene product (pRB) is a nuclear phosphoprotein that is thought to play a key role in the negative regulation of cellular proliferation. pRB is phosphorylated in a cell cycle dependent manner, and studies in both actively dividing and differentiated cells suggest that this modification may be essential for cells to progress through the cell cycle. Using tryptic phosphopeptide mapping we have shown that pRB is phosphorylated on multiple serine and threonine residues in vivo and that many of these phosphorylation events can be mimicked in vitro using purified p34cdc2. Using synthetic peptides corresponding to potential cdc2 phosphorylation sites, we have developed a strategy which has allowed the identification of five sites. S249, T252, T373, S807 and S811 are phosphorylated in vivo, and in each case these sites correspond closely to the consensus sequence for phosphorylation by p34cdc2. This and the observation that pRB forms a specific complex with p34cdc2 in vivo suggests that p34cdc2 or a p34cdc2-related protein is a major pRB kinase.     

Mitosis-specific phosphorylation of p60c-src by p34cdc2-associated protein kinase

As cells enter mitosis, the protein-tyrosine kinase, p60c-src, is known to be extensively phosphorylated on threonine in its amino-terminal region. In the present work, extracts of mitotic cells were searched for the protein kinase responsible for this phosphorylation. HeLa cells and Xenopus eggs were found to contain a mitosis-specific protein kinase activity capable of phosphorylating highly purified p60c-src in vitro on threonine residues. Tryptic phosphopeptide maps indicate that the mitotic HeLa kinase phosphorylates the same sites in vitro as those used during mitosis in vivo. In addition, this mitotic HeLa kinase comigrates on gel filtration with p34cdc2-associated histone H1 kinase, a well known regulator of mitotic events. Finally, antibodies to the C-terminal peptide of human p34cdc2 specifically deplete p60c-src-phosphorylating activity from mitotic extracts. These results suggest that p60c-src may act as an effector of p34cdc2 in certain mitotic processes.     

Phosphorylation of tau protein by purified p34cdc28 and a related protein kinase from neurofilaments.

It has been suggested that hyperphosphorylation of the tau protein in neurofibrillary tangles may be relevant to the etiology of Alzheimer's disease and that at least one of the hyperphosphorylated sites lies within a consensus sequence for the p34cdc2/cdc28 family of kinases. We describe a new method for large-scale purification of p34cdc28 kinase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and show that the purified enzyme can phosphorylate bovine and human tau. Phosphorylation was greatly enhanced by the addition of basic and acidic substrate modulators. The effect of the substrate modulators differed both with the structures of the substrates and the modulators. Similar results were obtained with a kinase that could be purified from neurofilaments by p13suc1 affinity chromatography, a hallmark of p34cdc2/cdc28-type kinases. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that a kinase of this type is involved in tau phosphorylation in vivo and open the possibility that hyperphosphorylation in Alzheimer's disease may be controlled by substrate modulators.     

The cAMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylates the rap1 protein in vitro as well as in intact fibroblasts, but not the closely related rap2 protein

The products of rap genes (rap1A, rap1B and rap2) are small molecular weight GTP-binding proteins that share approximately 50% homology with ras-p21s. It had previously been shown that a rap1 protein (also named Krev-1 or smg p21) could be phosphorylated on serine residues by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) in vitro as well as in intact platelets stimulated by prostaglandin E1. We show here that the rap1A protein purified from recombinant bacteria is phosphorylated in vitro by the catalytic subunit of PKA and that the deletion of the 17 C-terminal amino acids leads to the loss of this phosphorylation. This suggests that the serine residue at position 180 constitutes the site of phosphorylation of the rap1A protein by PKA. The rap1 protein can also be phosphorylated by PKA in intact fibroblasts; this phenomenon is independent of their proliferative state. In contrast, protein kinase C (PKC) does not phosphorylate the rap1 proteins, neither in vitro nor in vivo. Finally, the 60% homologous rap2 protein is neither phosphorylated in vitro nor in vivo by PKA or PKC.     

Requirement for p34cdc2 kinase is restricted to mitosis in the mammalian cdc2 mutant FT210

The mouse FT210 cell line is a temperature-sensitive cdc2 mutant. FT210 cells are found to arrest specifically in G2 phase and unlike many alleles of cdc2 and cdc28 mutants of yeasts, loss of p34cdc2 at the nonpermissive temperature has no apparent effect on cell cycle progression through the G1 and S phases of the division cycle. FT210 cells and the parent wild-type FM3A cell line each possess at least three distinct histone H1 kinases. H1 kinase activities in chromatography fractions were identified using a synthetic peptide substrate containing the consensus phosphorylation site of histone H1 and the kinase subunit compositions were determined immunochemically with antisera prepared against the "PSTAIR" peptide, the COOH-terminus of mammalian p34cdc2 and the human cyclins A and B1. The results show that p34cdc2 forms two separate complexes with cyclin A and with cyclin B1, both of which exhibit thermal lability at the non-permissive temperature in vitro and in vivo. A third H1 kinase with stable activity at the nonpermissive temperature is comprised of cyclin A and a cdc2-like 34-kD subunit, which is immunoreactive with anti-"PSTAIR" antiserum but is not recognized with antiserum specific for the COOH-terminus of p34cdc2. The cyclin A-associated kinases are active during S and G2 phases and earlier in the division cycle than the p34cdc2-cyclin B1 kinase. We show that mouse cells possess at least two cdc2-related gene products which form cell cycle regulated histone H1 kinases and we propose that the murine homolog of yeast p34cdc/CDC28 is essential only during the G2-to-M transition in FT210 cells.     

Characterization of synthetic peptide substrates for p34cdc2 protein kinase

Synthetic peptide substrates for the cell division cycle regulated protein kinase, p34cdc2, have been developed and characterized. These peptides are based on the sequences of two known substrates of the enzyme, Simian Virus 40 Large T antigen and the human cellular recessive oncogene product, p53. The peptide sequences are H-A-D-A-Q-H-A-T-P-P-K-K-K-R-K-V-E-D-P-K-D-F-OH (T antigen) and H-K-R-A-L-P-N-N-T-S-S-S-P-Q-P-K-K-K-P-L-D-G-E-Y-NH2 (p53), and they have been employed in a rapid assay of phosphorylation in vitro. Both peptides show linear kinetics and an apparent Km of 74 and 120 microM, respectively, for the purified human enzyme. The T antigen peptide is specifically phosphorylated by p34cdc2 and not by seven other protein serine/threonine kinases, chosen because they represent major classes of such enzymes. The peptides have been used in whole cell lysates to detect protein kinase activity, and the cell cycle variation of this activity is comparable to that measured with specific immune and affinity complexes of p34cdc2. In addition, the peptide phosphorylation detected in mitotic cells is depleted by affinity adsorption of p34cdc2 using either antibodies to p34cdc2 or by immobilized p13, a p34cdc2-binding protein. Purification of peptide kinase activity from mitotic HeLa cells yields an enzyme indistinguishable from p34cdc2. These peptides should be useful in the investigation of p34cdc2 protein kinase and their regulation throughout the cell division cycle.     

Intermediate filament reorganization during mitosis is mediated by p34cdc2 phosphorylation of vimentin

As cells enter mitosis, the intermediate filament (IF) networks of interphase BHK-21 cells are depolymerized to form cytoplasmic aggregates of disassembled IFs, and the constituent IF proteins, vimentin and desmin are hyperphosphorylated at several specific sites. We have characterized one of two endogenous vimentin kinases from a particulate fraction of mitotic cell lysates. Through several purification steps, vimentin kinase activity copurifies with histone H1 kinase and both activities bind to p13suc1-Sepharose. The final enriched kinase preparation consists primarily of p34cdc2 and polypeptides of 65 and 110 kd. The purified kinase complex phosphorylates vimentin in vitro at a subset of sites phosphorylated in vivo during mitosis. Furthermore, phosphorylation of in vitro polymerized vimentin IFs by the purified kinase causes their disassembly. Therefore, vimentin is a substrate of p34cdc2 and phosphorylation of vimentin contributes to M phase reorganization of the IF network.     

Identification of the regulatory phosphorylation sites in pp42/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase).

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) is a 42 kd serine/threonine protein kinase whose enzymatic activity requires phosphorylation of both tyrosyl and threonyl residues. As a step in elucidating the mechanism(s) for activation of this enzyme, we have determined the sites of regulatory phosphorylation. Following proteolytic digestion of 32P-labeled pp42/MAP kinase with trypsin, only a single phosphopeptide was detected by two-dimensional peptide mapping, and this peptide contained both phosphotyrosine and phosphothreonine. The amino acid sequence of the peptide, including the phosphorylation sites, was determined using a combination of Fourier transform mass spectrometry and collision-activated dissociation tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization. The sequence for the pp42/MAP kinase tryptic phosphopeptide is similar (but not identical) to a sequence present in the ERK1- and KSS1-encoded kinases. The two phosphorylation sites are separated by only a single residue. The regulation of activity by dual phosphorylations at closely spaced threonyl and tyrosyl residues has a functional correlate in p34cdc2, and may be characteristic of a family of protein kinases regulating cell cycle transitions.     

Phosphorylation of neurofilament H subunit at the tail domain by CDC2 kinase dissociates the association to microtubules

We sought the mammalian neurofilament tail domain-specific kinase. Several well known kinases including cAMP-dependent protein kinase, protein kinase C, Ca(2+)-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, casein kinase I, and casein kinase II phosphorylated the high (NF-H) and middle molecular mass subunit (NF-M) of bovine neurofilaments, but they did not reduced the electrophoretic mobility of the dephosphorylated form of NF-M and NF-H by phosphorylation nor was the amount of phosphorylation increased by dephosphorylation of NF proteins, indicating that the phosphorylation sites by these kinases are not major in vivo phosphorylation sites at the tail domain. In contrast, cdc2 kinase phosphorylated specifically the dephosphorylated form of NF-H. 4 mol of phosphates were incorporated per mol of NF-H and this phosphorylation returned the electrophoretic mobility of the dephosphorylated form of NF-H to the position of the isolated, fully phosphorylated form of NF-H. Furthermore, the phosphorylation by cdc2 kinase dissociated the binding of dephosphorylated NF-H to microtubules. Phosphorylation sites were located at the carboxyl-terminal tail domain. The KSPXK motif, but not KSPXX, in the repetitive sequence was suggested to be the phosphorylation site by using synthetic peptides.     

cdc2 family kinases phosphorylate a human cell DNA replication factor, RPA, and activate DNA replication.

RPA is a single-stranded DNA binding protein complex purified from human cells and is essential for the initiation and elongation stages of SV40 DNA replication in vitro. In both human and yeast cells, the 34 kDa polypeptide subunit of RPA is phosphorylated in the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle and not in G1. One of the major RPA kinases present in extracts of human cells was purified and shown to be the cyclin B-cdc2 complex. This purified kinase, and a closely related cyclin A associated cdc2-like kinase, phosphorylated RPA p34 on a subset of the chymotryptic peptides that were phosphorylated in vivo at the G1-S transition. Two serines near the N-terminus of RPA p34 were identified as possible sites of phosphorylation by cdc2 kinase. These same serines were necessary for RPA phosphorylation in vivo. The purified cdc2 kinase stimulated SV40 DNA replication in vitro when added to G1 cell extracts. The kinase also stimulated unwinding at the origin of replication, one of the earliest steps in DNA replication requiring RPA, but only in the presence of an additional factor present in G1 cell extracts. Thus, one or more members of the cyclin-cdc2 kinase family may be required for the initiation and maintenance of S phase, in part due to their ability to phosphorylate and activate a cellular DNA replication factor, RPA.     

Differential phosphorylation of vertebrate p34cdc2 kinase at the G1/S and G2/M transitions of the cell cycle: identification of major phosphorylation sites.

The cdc2 kinase is a key regulator of the eukaryotic cell cycle. The activity of its catalytic subunit, p34cdc2, is controlled by cell cycle dependent interactions with other proteins as well as by phosphorylation--dephosphorylation reactions. In this paper, we examine the phosphorylation state of chicken p34cdc2 at various stages of the cell cycle. By peptide mapping, we detect four major phosphopeptides in chicken p34cdc2; three phosphorylation sites are identified as threonine (Thr) 14, tyrosine (Tyr) 15 and serine (Ser) 277. Analysis of synchronized cells demonstrates that phosphorylation of all four sites is cell cycle regulated. Thr 14 and Tyr 15 are phosphorylated maximally during G2 phase but dephosphorylated abruptly at the G2/M transition, concomitant with activation of p34cdc2 kinase. This result suggests that phosphorylation of Thr 14 and/or Tyr 15 inhibits p34cdc2 kinase activity, in line with the location of these residues within the putative ATP binding site of the kinase. During M phase, p34cdc2 is also phosphorylated, but phosphorylation occurs on a threonine residue distinct from Thr 14. Finally, phosphorylation of Ser 277 peaks during G1 phase and drops markedly as cells progress through S phase, raising the possibility that this modification may contribute to control the proposed G1/S function of the vertebrate p34cdc2 kinase.