Centrobin-Centrosomal Protein 4.1-associated Protein (CPAP) Interaction Promotes CPAP Localization to the Centrioles during Centriole Duplication

Centriole duplication is the process by which two new daughter centrioles are generated from the proximal end of preexisting mother centrioles. Accurate centriole duplication is important for many cellular and physiological events, including cell division and ciliogenesis. Centrosomal protein 4.1-associated protein (CPAP), centrosomal protein of 152 kDa (CEP152), and centrobin are known to be essential for centriole duplication. However, the precise mechanism by which they contribute to centriole duplication is not known. In this study, we show that centrobin interacts with CEP152 and CPAP, and the centrobin-CPAP interaction is critical for centriole duplication. Although depletion of centrobin from cells did not have an effect on the centriolar levels of CEP152, it caused the disappearance of CPAP from both the preexisting and newly formed centrioles. Moreover, exogenous expression of the CPAP-binding fragment of centrobin also caused the disappearance of CPAP from both the preexisting and newly synthesized centrioles, possibly in a dominant negative manner, thereby inhibiting centriole duplication and the PLK4 overexpression-mediated centrosome amplification. Interestingly, exogenous overexpression of CPAP in the centrobin-depleted cells did not restore CPAP localization to the centrioles. However, restoration of centrobin expression in the centrobin-depleted cells led to the reappearance of centriolar CPAP. Hence, we conclude that centrobin-CPAP interaction is critical for the recruitment of CPAP to procentrioles to promote the elongation of daughter centrioles and for the persistence of CPAP on preexisting mother centrioles. Our study indicates that regulation of CPAP levels on the centrioles by centrobin is critical for preserving the normal size, shape, and number of centrioles in the cell.     

Centrobin-tubulin interaction is required for centriole elongation and stability

Centrobin is a daughter centriole protein that is essential for centrosome duplication. However, the molecular mechanism by which centrobin functions during centriole duplication remains undefined. In this study, we show that centrobin interacts with tubulin directly, and centrobin-tubulin interaction is pivotal for the function of centrobin during centriole duplication. We found that centrobin is recruited to the centriole biogenesis site via its interaction with tubulins during the early stage of centriole biogenesis, and its recruitment is dependent on hSAS-6 but not centrosomal P4.1-associated protein (CPAP) and CP110. The function of centrobin is also required for the elongation of centrioles, which is likely mediated by its interaction with tubulin. Furthermore, disruption of centrobin-tubulin interaction led to destabilization of existing centrioles and the preformed procentriole-like structures induced by CPAP expression, indicating that centrobin-tubulin interaction is critical for the stability of centrioles. Together, our study demonstrates that centrobin facilitates the elongation and stability of centrioles via its interaction with tubulins.     

Centrobin: a novel daughter centriole-associated protein that is required for centriole duplication

In mammalian cells, the centrosome consists of a pair of centrioles and amorphous pericentriolar material. The pair of centrioles, which are the core components of the centrosome, duplicate once per cell cycle. Centrosomes play a pivotal role in orchestrating the formation of the bipolar spindle during mitosis. Recent studies have linked centrosomal activity on centrioles or centriole-associated structures to cytokinesis and cell cycle progression through G1 into the S phase. In this study, we have identified centrobin as a centriole-associated protein that asymmetrically localizes to the daughter centriole. The silencing of centrobin expression by small interfering RNA inhibited centriole duplication and resulted in centrosomes with one or no centriole, demonstrating that centrobin is required for centriole duplication. Furthermore, inhibition of centriole duplication by centrobin depletion led to impaired cytokinesis.     

Daughter Centriole Elongation Is Controlled by Proteolysis

The centrosome is the major microtubule-organizing center of most mammalian cells and consists of a pair of centrioles embedded in pericentriolar material. Before mitosis, the two centrioles duplicate and two new daughter centrioles form adjacent to each preexisting maternal centriole. After initiation of daughter centriole synthesis, the procentrioles elongate in a process that is poorly understood. Here, we show that inhibition of cellular proteolysis by Z-L₃VS or MG132 induces abnormal elongation of daughter centrioles to approximately 4 times their normal length. This activity of Z-L₃VS or MG132 was found to correlate with inhibition of intracellular protease-mediated substrate cleavage. Using a small interfering RNA screen, we identified a total of nine gene products that either attenuated (seven) or promoted (two) abnormal Z-L₃VS–induced daughter centriole elongation. Our hits included known regulators of centriole length, including CPAP and CP110, but, interestingly, several proteins involved in microtubule stability and anchoring as well as centrosome cohesion. This suggests that nonproteasomal functions, specifically inhibition of cellular proteases, may play an important and underappreciated role in the regulation of centriole elongation. They also highlight the complexity of daughter centriole length control and provide a framework for future studies to dissect the molecular details of this process.     

CEP120 interacts with CPAP and positively regulates centriole elongation

Centriole duplication begins with the formation of a single procentriole next to a preexisting centriole. CPAP (centrosomal protein 4.1–associated protein) was previously reported to participate in centriole elongation. Here, we show that CEP120 is a cell cycle–regulated protein that directly interacts with CPAP and is required for centriole duplication. CEP120 levels increased gradually from early S to G2/M and decreased significantly after mitosis. Forced overexpression of either CEP120 or CPAP not only induced the assembly of overly long centrioles but also produced atypical supernumerary centrioles that grew from these long centrioles. Depletion of CEP120 inhibited CPAP-induced centriole elongation and vice versa, implying that these proteins work together to regulate centriole elongation. Furthermore, CEP120 was found to contain an N-terminal microtubule-binding domain, a C-terminal dimerization domain, and a centriolar localization domain. Overexpression of a microtubule binding–defective CEP120-K76A mutant significantly suppressed the formation of elongated centrioles. Together, our results indicate that CEP120 is a CPAP-interacting protein that positively regulates centriole elongation.     

Human microcephaly protein CEP135 binds to hSAS‐6 and CPAP,and is required for centriole assembly

Centrioles are cylindrical structures that are usually composed of nine triplets of microtubules (MTs) organized around a cartwheel‐shaped structure. Recent studies have proposed a structural model of the SAS‐6‐based cartwheel, yet we do not know the molecular detail of how the cartwheel participates in centriolar MT assembly. In this study, we demonstrate that the human microcephaly protein, CEP135, directly interacts with hSAS‐6 via its carboxyl‐terminus and with MTs via its amino‐terminus. Unexpectedly, CEP135 also interacts with another microcephaly protein CPAP via its amino terminal domain. Depletion of CEP135 not only perturbed the centriolar localization of CPAP, but also blocked CPAP‐induced centriole elongation. Furthermore, CEP135 depletion led to abnormal centriole structures with altered numbers of MT triplets and shorter centrioles. Overexpression of a CEP135 mutant lacking the proper interaction with hSAS‐6 had a dominant‐negative effect on centriole assembly. We propose that CEP135 may serve as a linker protein that directly connects the central hub protein, hSAS‐6, to the outer MTs, and suggest that this interaction stabilizes the proper cartwheel structure for further CPAP‐mediated centriole elongation.     

The microtubule nucleation activity of centrobin in both the centrosome and cytoplasm

Centrobin resides in daughter centriole and play a critical role in centriole duplication. Nucleation and stabilization of microtubules are known biological activities of centrobin. Here, we report a specific localization of centrobin outside the centrosome. Centrobin was associated with the stable microtubules. In hippocampal cells, centrobin formed cytoplasmic dots in addition to the localization at both centrosomes with the mother and daughter centrioles. Such specific localization pattern suggests that cytoplasmic centrobin is not just a reserved pool for centrosomal localization but also has a specific role in the cytoplasm. In fact, centrobin enhanced microtubule formation outside as well as inside the centrosome. These results propose specific roles of the cytoplasmic centrobin for noncentrosomal microtubule formation in specific cell types and during the cell cycle.     

Centrobin/Nip2 expression in vivo suggests its involvement in cell proliferation

Centrobin/Nip2 was initially identified as a centrosome protein that is critical for centrosome duplication and spindle assembly. In the present study, we determined the expression and subcellular localization of centrobin in selected mouse tissues. Immunoblot analysis revealed that the centrobin-specific band of 100 kDa was detected in all tissues tested but most abundantly in the thymus, spleen and testis. In the testis, centrobin was localized at the centrosomes of spermatocytes and early round spermatids, but no specific signal was detected in late round spermatids and elongated spermatids. Our results also revealed that the centrosome duplication occurs at interphase of the second meiotic division of the mouse male germ cells. The centrobin protein was more abundant in the mitotically active ovarian follicular cells and thymic cortex cells than in non-proliferating corpus luteal cells and thymic medullary cells. The expression pattern of centrobin suggests that the biological functions of centrobin are related to cell proliferation. Consistent with the proposal, we observed reduction of the centrobin levels when NIH3T3 became quiescent in the serum-starved culture conditions. However, a residual amount of centrobin was also detected at the centrosomes of the resting cells, suggesting its role for maintaining integrity of the centrosome, especially of the daughter centriole in the cells.     

Inhibition of centriole duplication by centrobin depletion leads to p38–p53 mediated cell-cycle arrest

Previously, we have identified a novel centrosomal protein centrobin that asymmetrically localizes to the daughter centriole. We found that depletion of centrobin expression inhibited the centriole duplication and impaired cytokinesis. However, the biological significance of centrobin in the cell cycle remains unknown. In the current study, we observed that silencing centrobin significantly inhibited the proliferation of lung cancer cell A549 and prevented the cells from G1 to S transition, whereas the growth rate of lung cancer cell line H1299, a p53-null cell line, was not affected. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the G1–S-phase arrest induced by centrobin knockdown in A549 cells is mediated by the upregulation of cell-cycle regulator p53, which is associated with the activation of cellular stress induced p38 pathway instead of DNA damage induced ATM pathway. Inhibition of p38 activity or downregulation of p38 expression could overcome the cell-cycle arrest caused by centrobin depletion. Taken together, our current findings demonstrated that centrobin plays an important role in the progression of cell cycle, and a tight association between the cell-cycle progression and defective centrosomes caused by depletion of centrobin.     

TRIM37 prevents formation of condensate-organized ectopic spindle poles to ensure mitotic fidelity

Centrosomes are composed of a centriolar core surrounded by pericentriolar material that nucleates microtubules. The ubiquitin ligase TRIM37 localizes to centrosomes, but its centrosomal roles are not yet defined. We show that TRIM37 does not control centriole duplication, structure, or the ability of centrioles to form cilia but instead prevents assembly of an ectopic centrobin-scaffolded structured condensate that forms by budding off of centrosomes. In ∼25% of TRIM37-deficient cells, the condensate organizes an ectopic spindle pole, recruiting other centrosomal proteins and acquiring microtubule nucleation capacity during mitotic entry. Ectopic spindle pole–associated transient multipolarity and multipolar segregation in TRIM37-deficient cells are suppressed by removing centrobin, which interacts with and is ubiquitinated by TRIM37. Thus, TRIM37 ensures accurate chromosome segregation by preventing the formation of centrobin-scaffolded condensates that organize ectopic spindle poles. Mutations in TRIM37 cause the disorder mulibrey nanism, and patient-derived cells harbor centrobin condensate-organized ectopic poles, leading us to propose that chromosome missegregation is a pathological mechanism in this disorder.     

Tankyrase 1 regulates centrosome function by controlling CPAP stability

CPAP--a gene mutated in primary microcephaly--is required for procentriole formation. Here we show that CPAP degradation and function is controlled by the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase tankyrase 1. CPAP is PARsylated by tankyrase 1 in vitro and in vivo. Overexpression of tankyrase 1 leads to CPAP proteasomal degradation, preventing centriole duplication, whereas depletion of tankyrase 1 stabilizes CPAP in G1, generating elongated procentrioles and multipolarity. Tankyrase 1 localizes to centrosomes exclusively in G1, coinciding with CPAP degradation. Hence, tankyrase 1-mediated PARsylation regulates CPAP levels during the cell cycle to limit centriole elongation and ensure normal centrosome function.     

Asymmetric spindle pole formation in CPAP-depleted mitotic cells

CPAP is an essential component for centriole formation. Here, we report that CPAP is also critical for symmetric spindle pole formation during mitosis. We observed that pericentriolar material between the mitotic spindle poles were asymmetrically distributed in CPAP-depleted cells even with intact numbers of centrioles. The length of procentrioles was slightly reduced by CPAP depletion, but the length of mother centrioles was not affected. Surprisingly, the young mother centrioles of the CPAP-depleted cells are not fully matured, as evidenced by the absence of distal and subdistal appendage proteins. We propose that the selective absence of centriolar appendages at the young mother centrioles may be responsible for asymmetric spindle pole formation in CPAP-depleted cells. Our results suggest that the neural stem cells with CPAP mutations might form asymmetric spindle poles, which results in premature initiation of differentiation.     

RBM14 prevents assembly of centriolar protein complexes and maintains mitotic spindle integrity

Formation of a new centriole adjacent to a pre-existing centriole occurs only once per cell cycle. Despite being crucial for genome integrity, the mechanisms controlling centriole biogenesis remain elusive. Here, we identify RBM14 as a novel suppressor of assembly of centriolar protein complexes. Depletion of RBM14 in human cells induces ectopic formation of centriolar protein complexes through function of the STIL/CPAP complex. Intriguingly, the formation of such structures seems not to require the cartwheel structure that normally acts as a scaffold for centriole formation, whereas they can retain pericentriolar material and microtubule nucleation activity. Moreover, we find that, upon RBM14 depletion, a part of the ectopic centriolar protein complexes in turn assemble into structures more akin to centrioles, presumably by incorporating HsSAS-6, a cartwheel component, and cause multipolar spindle formation. We further demonstrate that such structures assemble in the cytoplasm even in the presence of pre-existing centrioles. This study sheds light on the possibility that ectopic formation of aberrant structures related to centrioles may contribute to genome instability and tumorigenesis.     

Klp10A, a microtubule-depolymerizing kinesin-13, cooperates with CP110 to control Drosophila centriole length

Klp10A is a kinesin-13 of Drosophila melanogaster that depolymerizes cytoplasmic microtubules. In interphase, it promotes microtubule catastrophe; in mitosis, it contributes to anaphase chromosome movement by enabling tubulin flux. Here we show that Klp10A also acts as a microtubule depolymerase on centriolar microtubules to regulate centriole length. Thus, in both cultured cell lines and the testes, absence of Klp10A leads to longer centrioles that show incomplete 9-fold symmetry at their ends. These structures and associated pericentriolar material undergo fragmentation. We also show that in contrast to mammalian cells where depletion of CP110 leads to centriole elongation, in Drosophila cells it results in centriole length diminution that is overcome by codepletion of Klp10A to give longer centrioles than usual. We discuss how loss of centriole capping by CP110 might have different consequences for centriole length in mammalian and insect cells and also relate these findings to the functional interactions between mammalian CP110 and another kinesin-13, Kif24, that in mammalian cells regulates cilium formation.     

PLK2 phosphorylation is critical for CPAP function in procentriole formation during the centrosome cycle

Control of centrosome duplication is tightly linked with the progression of the cell cycle. Recent studies suggest that the fundamental process of centriole duplication is evolutionally conserved. Here, we identified c entrosomal P 4.1‐a ssociated p rotein (CPAP), a human homologue of SAS‐4, as a substrate of PLK2 whose activity oscillates during the cell cycle. PLK2 phosphorylates the S589 and S595 residues of CPAP in vitro and in vivo. This phosphorylation is critical for procentriole formation during the centrosome cycle. PLK4 also phosphorylates S595 of CPAP, but PLK4 phosphorylation is not a critical step in the PLK4 function in procentriole assembly. CPAP is phosphorylated in a cell cycle stage‐specific manner, so that its phosphorylation increases at the G1/S transition phase and decreases during the exit of mitosis. Phosphorylated CPAP is preferentially located at the procentriole. Furthermore, overexpression of a phospho‐resistant CPAP mutant resulted in the failure to form elongated centrioles. On the basis of these results, we propose that phosphorylated CPAP is involved in procentriole assembly, possibly for centriole elongation. This work demonstrates an example of how procentriole formation is linked to the progression of the cell cycle.     

Klp10A modulates the localization of centriole-associated proteins during Drosophila male gametogenesis

Mutations in Klp10A, a microtubule-depolymerising Kinesin-13, lead to overly long centrioles in Drosophila male germ cells. We demonstrated that the loss of Klp10A modifies the distribution of typical proteins involved in centriole assembly and function. In the absence of Klp10A the distribution of Drosophila pericentrin-like protein (Dplp), Sas-4 and Sak/Plk4 that are restricted in control testes to the proximal end of the centriole increase along the centriole length. Remarkably, the cartwheel is lacking or it appears abnormal in mutant centrioles, suggesting that this structure may spatially delimit protein localization. Moreover, the parent centrioles that in control cells have the same dimensions grow at different rates in mutant testes with the mother centrioles longer than the daughters. Daughter centrioles have often an ectopic position with respect to the proximal end of the mothers and failed to recruit Dplp.     

Aurora A inhibition by MNL8054 promotes centriole elongation during Drosophila male meiosis

Aurora A kinase plays an important role in several aspects of cell division, including centrosome maturation and separation, a crucial step for the correct organization of the bipolar spindle. Although it has long been showed that this kinase accumulates at the centrosome throughout mitosis its precise contribution to centriole biogenesis and structure has until now not been reported. It is not surprising that so little is known, due to the small size of somatic centrioles, where only dramatic structural changes may be identified by careful electron microscopy analysis. Conversely, centrioles of Drosophila primary spermatocytes increase tenfold in length during the first prophase, thus making any change easily detectable. Therefore, we examined the consequence of the pharmacological inhibition of Aurora A by MLN8054 on centriole biogenesis during early Drosophila gametogenesis. Here, we show that depletion of this kinase results in longer centrioles, mainly during transition from prophase to prometaphase of the first meiosis. We also found abnormal ciliogenesis characterized by irregularly growing axonemal doublets. Our results represent the first documentation of a potential requirement of Aurora A in centriole integrity and elongation.     

The Protein Phosphatase 2A regulatory subunit Twins stabilizes Plk4 to induce centriole amplification

Centriole duplication is a tightly regulated process that must occur only once per cell cycle; otherwise, supernumerary centrioles can induce aneuploidy and tumorigenesis. Plk4 (Polo-like kinase 4) activity initiates centriole duplication and is regulated by ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. Throughout interphase, Plk4 autophosphorylation triggers its degradation, thus preventing centriole amplification. However, Plk4 activity is required during mitosis for proper centriole duplication, but the mechanism stabilizing mitotic Plk4 is unknown. In this paper, we show that PP2A (Protein Phosphatase 2A(Twins)) counteracts Plk4 autophosphorylation, thus stabilizing Plk4 and promoting centriole duplication. Like Plk4, the protein level of PP2A's regulatory subunit, Twins (Tws), peaks during mitosis and is required for centriole duplication. However, untimely Tws expression stabilizes Plk4 inappropriately, inducing centriole amplification. Paradoxically, expression of tumor-promoting simian virus 40 small tumor antigen (ST), a reported PP2A inhibitor, promotes centrosome amplification by an unknown mechanism. We demonstrate that ST actually mimics Tws function in stabilizing Plk4 and inducing centriole amplification.     

Centrosome-centriole abnormalities are markers for abnormal cell divisions and cancer in the transgenic adenocarcinoma mouse prostate (TRAMP) model

We utilized the transgenic adenocarcinoma mouse prostate (TRAMP) model to study the formation of abnormal mitosis in malignant tumors of the prostate. The results presented here are focused on centrosome and centriole abnormalities and the implications for abnormal cell divisions, genomic instability, and apoptosis. Centrosomes are microtubule organizing organelles which assemble bipolar spindles in normal cells but can organize mono-, tri-, and multipolar mitoses in tumor cells, as shown here with histology and electron microscopy in TRAMP neoplastic tissue. These abnormalities will cause unequal distribution of chromosomes and can initiate imbalanced cell cycles in which checkpoints for cell cycle control are lost. Neoplastic tissue of the TRAMP model is also characterized by numerous apoptotic cells. This may be the result of multipolar mitoses related to aberrant centrosome formations. Our results also reveal that centrosomes at the poles in mitotic cancer cells contain more than the regular perpendicular pair of centrioles which indicates abnormal distribution of centrioles during separation to the mitotic poles. Abnormalities in the centriole-centrosome complex are also seen during interphase where the complex is either closely associated with the nucleus or loosely dispersed in the cytoplasm. An increase in centriole numbers is observed during interphase, which may be the result of increased centriole duplication. Alternatively, these centrioles may be derived from basal bodies that have accumulated in the cell's cytoplasm, after the loss of cell borders. The supernumerary centrioles may participate in the formation of abnormal mitoses during cell division. These results demonstrate multiple abnormalities in the centrosome-centriole complex during prostate cancer that result in abnormal mitoses and may lead to increases in genomic instability and/or apoptosis.