The activity of total histone H1 kinases is related to growth and commitment points while the p13suc1-bound kinase activity relates to mitoses in the alga Scenedesmus quadricauda

Under optimal growing conditions, synchronous cultures of the alga Scenedesmus quadricauda underwent three DNA replications and three mitoses during one cell cycle. This resulted in eight daughter cells. By different illumination regimes and temporal addition of cycloheximide, cell divisions resulting in two, four or eight daughter cells per cycle were obtained. The selected cell cycle patterns differed in timing of commitment points, the number of nuclear divisions, and their positioning in the cell cycle. These distinct cell cycle patterns allowed to assess the correlation of histone H1 kinase activity with commitment points and mitoses. The activity of the histone H1 kinases was assayed in cellular protein extracts and after affinity purification using the p13^suc1 protein. The main peaks of kinase activity in the cellular extract were found to correlate with the commitment points. Small histone H1 kinase activity peaks were also found which preceded the nuclear division. Contrary to the histone H1 kinase activity of cellular extracts, the p13^suc1-bound kinase activity preceded the nuclear division, whilst its activity was negligible at the commitment points. Being able to manipulate the timing of commitment points and cell division by manipulating experimental conditions, we could precisely match the commitment points to an as yet unidentified histone H1 kinase activity and mitosis to p13^suc1-bound CDK activity during a particular cell division pattern with overlapping cycles. This provides molecular evidence, that local activation of CDKs regulates distinct events of the cell 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.     

Activation of p42 MAP kinase and the release of oocytes from cell cycle arrest.

Clam oocytes are arrested naturally at the G2/M border in meiosis and contain an inactive 42 kDa ERK/MAP kinase, p42MAPK. Following fertilization, p42MAPK is rapidly phosphorylated on tyrosine residues and concomitantly activated. Both tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of p42MAPK begin within 2-3 min of fertilization, peak at approximately 15 min, then rapidly decline and disappear around the end of meiosis I. Neither the tyrosine phosphorylated form of p42MAPK nor p42MAPK activity reappears during meiosis II or the succeeding mitotic cell cycles. High doses of molybdate, a potent PTPase inhibitor, block the phosphorylation of p42MAPK and entry into the cell cycle. Lower doses of molybdate delay both p42MAPK phosphorylation and the release from cell cycle arrest, but once cells have re-entered the cell cycle, they continue with near-normal timing. These results argue that the transient activation of p42MAPK at fertilization is a one-time event linked to release from cell cycle arrest. In trying to reconcile this one-time activation of p42MAPK in clam embryos with the recurring, M-phase specific activation of MBP/MAP kinases reported in other systems, we show that cdc2 kinase contributes a major portion of the MBP kinase activity in mitotic extracts. Furthermore, a small fraction of p42MAPK and other related kinases are present in p13suc1-bound material, cautioning against the use of p13suc1 beads for experiments where, in addition to cdc2, the unaccounted presence of other kinase activities could be misleading.     

p13suc1 suppresses the catalytic function of p34cdc2 kinase for intermediate filament proteins, in vitro.

The regulation of p34cdc2 kinase activity controls the entry into and exit from mitosis. Although genetic and biochemical evidence suggested close interactions between cyclins, p13suc1 and p34cdc2 kinase, the roles of p13suc1 on p34cdc2 kinase functions remain unclear. To examine the effects of p13suc1 on p34cdc2 kinase function we developed a simple purification procedure for p34cdc2 kinase, unassociated with p13suc1. The key to the purification procedures we used was buffer containing 0.5 M NaCl and 50% ethylene glycol, as a specific elutant of p34cdc2 kinase from p13suc1-Sepharose. This purified p34cdc2 kinase stoichiometrically phosphorylated vimentin and desmin. Exogenous p13suc1 suppressed the phosphorylation of these filament proteins by the kinase and prevented disassembly, although histone H1 phosphorylation was not affected. Peptide mapping analysis showed a similar extent of inhibition by p13suc1 for all five phosphorylation sites by p34cdc2 kinase of vimentin and desmin, hence these p13suc1-induced inhibitions are probably not site-specific. It thus appears that p13suc1 has a selective effect on the catalytic activity of p34cdc2 kinase for these filament proteins.     

Binding and catalytic properties of the Cdc2 and Crp proteins of Dictyostelium.

Dictyostelium expresses at least two proteins of the cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) family, Cdc2 and Crp. Cdc2 levels remain relatively constant during differentiation, whereas the levels of Crp increase dramatically as differentiation progresses. Crp is highly related to the mammalian Cdk5, and p25 (a truncated form of p35, the activating subunit of Cdk5 from mammalian brain) stimulates the histone H1 kinase activity of GST-Crp by several fold. In contrast, p25 does not stimulate the histone H1 kinase activity of GST-Cdc2 or the Cdc2 activity present in cell extracts from vegetative Dictyostelium cells. GST-Cdc2, in vitro translated Cdc2 and Cdc2 from all stages of differentiation bind to p13suc1. In contrast, GST-Crp, in vitro translated Crp and the Crp protein present in cell extracts do not bind to p13suc1. We have confirmed a previous report by Arakane and Maeda [J. Plant Res. (1997) 110, 81-85] that there is a peak of p13suc1 bound histone H1 kinase activity during late development, but we found that there was no corresponding peak of p13suc1 bound Cdc2 protein that corresponds to this activity. Taken together, these data suggest that neither Cdc2 nor Crp is responsible for the late developmental peak of histone H1 kinase activity that binds to p13suc1.     

Nuclear protein kinase activities during the cell cycle of HeLa S3 cells

To ascertain the activity and substrate specificity of nuclear protein kinases during various stages of the cell cycle of HeLa S3 cells, a nuclear phospho-protein-enriched sample was extracted from synchronised cells and assayed in vitro in the presence of homologous substrates. The nuclear protein kinases increased in activity during S and G2 phase to a level that was twice that of kinases from early S phase cells. The activity was reduced during mitosis but increased again in G1 phase. When the phosphoproteins were separated into five fractions by cellulose-phosphate chromatography each fraction, though not homogenous, exhibited differences in activity. Variations in the activity of the protein kinase fractions were observed during the cell cycle, similar to those observed for the unfractionated kinases. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analysis of the proteins phosphorylated by each of the five kinase fractions demonstrated a substrate specificity. The fractions also exhibited some cell cycle stage-specific preference for substrates; kinases from G1 cells phosphorylated mainly high molecular weight polypeptides, whereas lower molecular weight species were phosphorylated by kinases from the S, G2 and mitotic stages of the cell cycle. Inhibition of DNA and histone synthesis by cytosine arabinoside had no effect on the activity or substrate specificity of S phase kinases. Some kinase fractions phosphorylated histones as well as non-histone chromosomal proteins and this phosphorylation was also cell cycle stage dependent. The presence of histones in the in vitro assay influenced the ability of some fractions to phosphorylate particular non-histone polypeptides; non-histone proteins also appeared to affect the in vitro phosphorylation of histones.     

Regulation of ultraviolet B-induced phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 10 by Fyn kinase

Ultraviolet B (UVB) induces phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 10, and mitogen-activated protein kinases are involved in this signal transduction pathway. Here we provide evidence that Fyn kinase, a member of the Src kinase family, is involved in the UVB-induced phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 10. UVB distinctly increased Fyn kinase activity and phosphorylation. Fyn kinase inhibitors 4-amino-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-7(t-butyl)pyrazol(3,4-d)pyramide and leflunomide, an Src kinase inhibitor, suppressed both UVB-induced phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 10 and Fyn kinase activity and phosphorylation. UVB-induced phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 10 was blocked by either a dominant-negative mutant of Fyn (DNM-Fyn) kinase or small interfering RNA of Fyn kinase. UVB-induced phosphorylation and activities of ERKs and protein kinase B/Akt were markedly inhibited by DNM-Fyn kinase. However, DNM-Fyn kinase did not inhibit UVB-induced phosphorylation of p38 MAPK or c-Jun N-terminal kinases. Active Fyn kinase phosphorylated histone H3 at serine 10 in vitro, and the phosphorylated Fyn kinase could translocate into the nucleus of HaCaT cells. These results indicate that Fyn kinase plays a key role in the UVB-induced phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 10.     

Activation of a histone H1 kinase by tyrosine phosphorylation in v-src-transformed fibroblasts.

Using anti-phosphotyrosine immunoaffinity chromatography, we have searched for serine/threonine kinases that are directly regulated by tyrosine phosphorylation in v-src-transformed rat 3Y1 fibroblasts. Tyrosine phosphoprotein preparations from v-src-transformed cells contain a kinase activity that phosphorylates histone H1 in vitro on serine residues and this activity is present at a 20-fold greater level than that in parental cell preparations. This activity elutes from a MonoQ FPLC column as a single peak and gel filtration chromatography suggests that the kinase has a molecular mass of approximately 55 kDa. Tyrosine phosphatase treatment inactivates the histone H1 kinase and this result indicates that the specific activity of the kinase is regulated by tyrosine phosphorylation. Experiments with cells transformed with a temperature-sensitive mutant of the v-src oncogene demonstrate that the tyrosine phosphorylation of the histone H1 kinase is an early event in v-src transformation. The kinase is distinct from known cdc2 family members that contain the PSTAIR motif, because the kinase can be separated almost completely from these proteins by immunoprecipitation with an antibody against p34cdc2. The profile of antibody reactivity and sensitivity to modulators of protein kinases suggests that this activity is distinct from known second messenger-regulated kinases and from previously characterized MAP kinases.     

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.     

Ultraviolet B-induced phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 28 is mediated by MSK1.

N-terminal tail phosphorylation of histone H3 plays an important role in gene expression, chromatin remodeling, and chromosome condensation. Phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 10 was shown to be mediated by RSK2, mitogen- and stress-activated protein kinase-1 (MSK1), and mitogen-activated protein kinases depending on the specific stimulation or stress. Our previous study showed that mitogen-activated protein kinases MAP kinases are involved in ultraviolet B-induced phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 28 (Zhong, S., Zhong, Z., Jansen, J., Goto, H., Inagaki, M., and Dong, Z., J. Biol. Chem. 276, 12932-12937). However, downstream effectors of MAP kinases remain to be identified. Here, we report that H89, a selective inhibitor of the nucleosomal response, totally inhibits ultraviolet B-induced phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 28. H89 blocks MSK1 activity but does not inhibit ultraviolet B-induced activation of MAP kinases p70/85(S6K), p90(RSK), Akt, and protein kinase A. Furthermore, MSK1 markedly phosphorylated serine 28 of histone H3 and chromatin in vitro. Transfection experiments showed that an N-terminal mutant MSK1 or a C-terminal mutant MSK1 markedly blocked MSK1 activity. Compared with wild-type MSK1, cells transfected with N-terminal or C-terminal mutant MSK1 strongly blocked ultraviolet B-induced phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 28 in vivo. These data illustrate that MSK1 mediates ultraviolet B-induced phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 28.     

Chromatin-associated protein phosphatase 1 regulates aurora-B and histone H3 phosphorylation

Proper chromosome condensation requires the phosphorylation of histone and nonhistone chromatin proteins. We have used an in vitro chromosome assembly system based on Xenopus egg cytoplasmic extracts to study mitotic histone H3 phosphorylation. We identified a histone H3 Ser(10) kinase activity associated with isolated mitotic chromosomes. The histone H3 kinase was not affected by inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases, DNA-dependent protein kinase, p90(rsk), or cAMP-dependent protein kinase. The activity could be selectively eluted from mitotic chromosomes and immunoprecipitated by specific anti-X aurora-B/AIRK2 antibodies. This activity was regulated by phosphorylation. Treatment of X aurora-B immunoprecipitates with recombinant protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) inhibited kinase activity. The presence of PP1 on chromatin suggested that PP1 might directly regulate the X aurora-B associated kinase activity. Indeed, incubation of isolated interphase chromatin with the PP1-specific inhibitor I2 and ATP generated an H3 kinase activity that was also specifically immunoprecipitated by anti-X aurora-B antibodies. Nonetheless, we found that stimulation of histone H3 phosphorylation in interphase cytosol does not drive chromosome condensation or targeting of 13 S condensin to chromatin. In summary, the chromosome-associated mitotic histone H3 Ser(10) kinase is associated with X aurora-B and is inhibited directly in interphase chromatin by PP1.     

Ribosomal S6 kinase p90rsk and mRNA cap-binding protein eIF4E phosphorylations correlate with MAP kinase activation during meiotic reinitiation of mouse oocytes

During meiotic reinitiation of the mouse oocyte, entry into M-phase is regulated by changes of protein phosphorylation and by the stimulation of selective mRNA translation following the nuclear membrane dissolution. Our results reveal that M-phase kinases (MAP kinase and histone H1 kinase) are being activated together with S6 kinase and with the phosphorylation of eIF4E, the cap-binding subunit of the initiation factor eIF-4F. In order to test which signaling pathway(s) is(are) involved, okadaic acid and cycloheximide have been used as tools for differentially modulating MAP and histone H1 kinase activities. A role for MAP kinases in the phosphorylation of eIF4E and the activation of S6 kinase is suggested. The possible implication of p90^rsk and/or of p70^s6k in the overall increase in S6 kinase activity has been examined. p70^s6k does not appear to be involved since phosphorylated forms are found in prophase and maturing oocytes. In contrast, p90^rsk is phosphorylated and activated in maturing oocytes. p90^rsk phosphorylation correlates with the activation of S6 kinase. These results suggest that the overall increase of S6 kinase activity is mostly due to p90^rsk activation. The roles of eIF4E phosphorylation and S6 kinase activation in the physiological induction of M-phase and in the okadaic acid-induced premature mitotic events are discussed. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 46:383–391, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Phosphorylation of numatrin and other nuclear proteins by cdc2 containing CTD kinase cdc2/p58

Numatrin is a nuclear matrix phosphoprotein whose synthesis and abundance were shown to be regulated during the cell cycle in mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes (Feuerstein, N., and Mond, J. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 11389-11397). We examined the effect of (a) CTD-kinase, which contains the cdc2 catalytic component (p34) in a complex with a p58 subunit (cdc2/p58) and (b) the M phase-specific histone H1 kinase, which contains the cdc2 kinase in association with a p62 subunit (cdc2/p62), on phosphorylation of numatrin. We show that both cdc2 kinase complexes can phosphorylate numatrin. However, cdc2/p58 at conditions that caused a similar effect to cdc2/p62 on phosphorylation of histone H1 (dpm/micrograms of substrate/micrograms of enzyme) was found to have a 5-25-fold higher catalytic activity in the phosphorylation of numatrin. Analysis of the tryptic phosphopeptide map of numatrin phosphorylated by these cdc2 kinase complexes showed that both kinase complexes phosphorylated two major identical peptides, but minor additional peptides were differentially phosphorylated by each of these kinases. This indicates that under certain experimental conditions cdc2/p58 and cdc2/p62 may express some differences in their catalytic activity. In vitro phosphorylation by CTD kinase of a whole nuclear protein extract from murine fibroblasts showed that numatrin is the most prominent substrate for CTD kinase in this nuclear extract. CTD kinase cdc2/p58 was found to induce significantly the phosphorylation of five other discrete nuclear substrates. Particularly, two nuclear proteins at 75 kDa/pI approximately 6.5 and 85 kDa/pI approximately 5.3, which were not Coomassie Blue stainable, were found to be markedly phosphorylated by CTD kinase. The results of this study call for further study of the role of CTD kinase cdc2/p58 in the phosphorylation of numatrin under physiological conditions and to further characterization of the other nuclear substrates for CTD kinase.     

Cdc2 protein kinase is complexed with both cyclin A and B: evidence for proteolytic inactivation of MPF

In the clam, Spisula, two previously described proteins known as cyclin A and B display the unusual property of selective proteolytic degradation at the end of each mitosis. We show here that clam oocytes and embryos contain a cdc2 protein kinase. This protein kinase is a component of the M phase promoting factor (MPF) in frog eggs and the M phase-specific histone H1 kinase in starfish. Clam cdc2 is found in association with both cyclin A and B, probably not as a trimolecular association, but as separate cdc2/cyclin A and cdc2/cyclin B complexes. Clam cdc2 and the associated cyclins bind to p13suc1-Sepharose. The p13-bound complex, and also anti-cyclin A or B immunoprecipitates, each display cell cycle-dependent histone H1 kinase activity. We suggest that in addition to the cdc2 protein kinase, the cyclins are further components of the M phase promoting factor and that cyclin proteolysis provides the mechanism of MPF inactivation and thus exit from mitosis.     

Phosphorylation of the Chromatin Binding Domain of KSHV LANA

The Kaposi sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV) latency associated nuclear antigen (LANA) is expressed in all KSHV associated malignancies and is essential for maintenance of KSHV genomes in infected cells. To identify kinases that are potentially capable of modifying LANA, in vitro phosphorylation assays were performed using an Epstein Barr virus plus LANA protein microarray and 268 human kinases purified in active form from yeast. Interestingly, of the Epstein-Barr virus proteins on the array, the EBNA1 protein had the most similar kinase profile to LANA. We focused on nuclear kinases and on the N-terminus of LANA (amino acids 1–329) that contains the LANA chromatin binding domain. Sixty-three nuclear kinases phosphorylated the LANA N-terminus. Twenty-four nuclear kinases phosphorylated a peptide covering the LANA chromatin binding domain (amino acids 3–21). Alanine mutations of serine 10 and threonine 14 abolish or severely diminish chromatin and histone binding by LANA. However, conversion of these residues to the phosphomimetic glutamic acid restored histone binding suggesting that phosphorylation of serine 10 and threonine 14 may modulate LANA function. Serine 10 and threonine 14 were validated as substrates of casein kinase 1, PIM1, GSK-3 and RSK3 kinases. Short-term treatment of transfected cells with inhibitors of these kinases found that only RSK inhibition reduced LANA interaction with endogenous histone H2B. Extended treatment of PEL cell cultures with RSK inhibitor caused a decrease in LANA protein levels associated with p21 induction and a loss of PEL cell viability. The data indicate that RSK phosphorylation affects both LANA accumulation and function.     

MPF is activated in growing immature Xenopus oocytes in the absence of detectable tyrosine dephosphorylation of P34cdc2.

Tyrosine-phosphorylated p34cdc2 and cyclin B2 are present and physically associated in small growing stage IV oocytes (800 microns in diameter) of Xenopus laevis. Microinjection of M-phase promoting factor (MPF) into stage IV oocytes induces germinal vesicle breakdown and the activation of the kinase activity of the p34cdc2/cyclin B2 complex measured on p13suc1 beads. During the in vivo activation of MPF in stage IV oocytes, p34cdc2 tyrosine dephosphorylation is not detectable, in contrast to stage VI oocytes. Addition of cycloheximide in MPF-injected stage IV oocytes induces neither the inhibition of histone H1 kinase activity nor the cyclin B2 degradation. Therefore, the activation mechanism of histone H1 kinase in stage IV oocytes does not require detectable tyrosine dephosphorylation of p34cdc2. It is suggested rather that the tyrosine phosphorylation of p34cdc2 plays a role in inhibiting cyclin B2 degradation.     

A deficiency in the mechanism for p34cdc2 protein kinase activation in mouse embryos arrested at 2-cell stage.

Mouse embryos of the ddY strain fertilized in vitro undergo the first cleavage to the 2-cell stage but not the second cleavage even 45 hr after insemination (2-cell block). We examined the phosphorylation state of p34cdc2 and histone H1 kinase activity in mouse 2-cell embryos to investigate the relationship of p34cdc2 with 2-cell block. In the first mitotic cell cycle, the amount of phosphorylated forms of p34cdc2, which were detected as the bands of retarded mobility on SDS-PAGE followed by immunoblotting with anti-p34cdc2 antibody, increased during interphase and abruptly decreased at M phase. Concomitant with this dephosphorylation, histone H1 kinase activity was increased. After the embryos cleaved to the 2-cell stage, the amounts of phosphorylated forms of p34cdc2 increased up to 33 hr after insemination. However, the activation of histone H1 kinase did not occur and the states of phosphorylation of p34cdc2 did not show any significant changes until 45 hr. In contrast, 2-cell embryos of B6C3F1 mice, which do not show a 2-cell block and develop normally to blastocysts in vitro, exhibit the dephosphorylation of p34cdc2 and an increase in histone H1 kinase activity between 31 and 45 hr after insemination. When the ddY mouse embryos arrested at the 2-cell stage were treated with okadaic acid, an inhibitor of protein phosphatases 1 and 2A, the dephosphorylation of p34cdc2 occurred and histone H1 kinase activity increased. The chromosomes of these embryos stained with 4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole revealed the initiation of condensation. These results suggest that 2-cell-blocked embryos contain enough p34cdc2 to induce mitotic events but the protein remains in a latent form.     

A Novel Member of the Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Family in Paramecium tetraurelia

Passage through the cell cycle in eukaryotes requires the successive activation of different cyclin-dependent protein kinases. Here, we describe the identification and characterization of a novel class of cyclin-dependent protein kinase, termed Cdk2, in the ciliate Paramecium tetraurelia. It is 301 amino acids long, 7 amino acids shorter than Cdk1, the CDK that is associated with macronuclear DNA synthesis. All the catalytic domains typical of protein kinases can be located within the sequence and putative regulatory phosphorylation sites equivalent to Thr14, Tyr15, and Thr161 in human CDK1 are also conserved. The 'PSTAIRE' region characteristic of most CDKs is perfectly conserved. Cdk2 shares only 48% homology to Cdk1 at the amino acid level, suggesting that the evolutionary separation of Cdk1 and Cdk2 is ancient, and implying that they have different roles in cell cycle regulation. Like Cdk1, Cdk2 does not bind to yeast p13suc1, even though it has better conservation of p13suc1 binding sites than Cdk1 does. The Cdk2 protein level is relatively constant throughout the vegetative cell cycle. Cdk2 exhibits kinase activity towards bovine histone H1 in vitro with the maximal level late in the cell cycle, suggesting it may be involved in the regulation of cytokinesis. Our results further support the view that an analogue of the cyclin-dependent kinase cell cycle regulatory system like that of yeast and higher eukaryotic cells operates in Paramecium and that a family of cyclin-dependent kinases may control different aspects of the Paramecium cell cycle.     

Cytoplasmic and nuclear protein kinases during the cell cycle.

Nuclear and cytoplasmic protein kinases were measured during the traverse of synchronous CHO cultures through G1 into S phase. Cells were synchronized by selective detachment of cells blocked in metaphase using colcemid. Nuclei were isolated and the protein kinases extracted from the nuclear preparation with 0.6 M NaCl. This procedure solubilized greater than 90% of the total protein kinase activity present in the nuclear preparation. DEAE chromatography of this extract showed 5 apparently different ionic forms of nuclear protein kinases. The nuclear protein kinases preferred casein and phosvitin to histone as substrates and were cyclic AMP-independent. Nuclear protein kinase activities increased greater than two-fold, when expressed as units of activity per cell nucleus, during G1 phase traverse, concomitant with a 70% increase in nuclear non-histone proteins (those soluble in 0.6 M NaCl). This resulted in only a 40% increase in the specific activities (units/microgram protein in 0.6 M NaCl extractable nuclear fraction) of these enzymes as cells progressed through G1 into S phase. This was in contrast to cytoplasmic cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activities which also increased two-fold during progression through G1 phase while total cellular protein increased less than 20%. Activation of, as well as synthesis of, cyclic AMP-dependent cytoplasmic protein kinases during G1 phase suggests a regulatory mechanism for precise temporal phosphorylation, whereas the constant specific activity in nuclear kinases during cell cycle is more compatible with the maintenance of bulk phosphorylation processes in the nucleus.