BUB1 mediation of caspase-independent mitotic death determines cell fate

The spindle checkpoint that monitors kinetochore-microtubule attachment has been implicated in tumorigenesis; however, the relation between the spindle checkpoint and cell death remains obscure. In BUB1-deficient (but not MAD2-deficient) cells, conditions that activate the spindle checkpoint (i.e., cold shock or treatment with nocodazole, paclitaxel, or 17-AAG) induced DNA fragmentation during early mitosis. This mitotic cell death was independent of caspase activation; therefore, we named it caspase-independent mitotic death (CIMD). CIMD depends on p73, a homologue of p53, but not on p53. CIMD also depends on apoptosis-inducing factor and endonuclease G, which are effectors of caspase-independent cell death. Treatment with nocodazole, paclitaxel, or 17-AAG induced CIMD in cell lines derived from colon tumors with chromosome instability, but not in cells from colon tumors with microsatellite instability. This result was due to low BUB1 expression in the former cell lines. When BUB1 is completely depleted, aneuploidy rather than CIMD occurs. These results suggest that cells prone to substantial chromosome missegregation might be eliminated via CIMD.     

Bub1p Kinase Activates the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Spindle Assembly Checkpoint

Saccharomyces cerevisiae BUB1 encodes a protein kinase required for spindle assembly checkpoint function. In the presence of spindle damage, BUB1 is required to prevent cell cycle progression into anaphase. We have identified a dominantly acting BUB1 allele that appears to activate the spindle assembly checkpoint pathway in cells with undamaged spindles. High-level expression of BUB1-5 did not cause detectable spindle damage, yet it delayed yeast cells in mitosis at a stage following bipolar spindle assembly but prior to anaphase spindle elongation. Delayed cells possessed a G₂ DNA content and elevated Clb2p mitotic cyclin levels. Unlike cells delayed in mitosis by spindle damage or MPS1 kinase overexpression, hyperphosphorylated forms of the Mad1p checkpoint protein did not accumulate. Similar to cells overexpressing MPS1, the BUB1-5 delay was dependent upon the functions of the other checkpoint genes, including BUB2 and BUB3 and MAD1, MAD2, and MAD3. We found that the mitotic delay caused by BUB1-5 or MPS1 overexpression was interdependent upon the function of the other. This suggests that the Bub1p and Mps1p kinases act together at an early step in generating the spindle damage signal.     

IBD2 encodes a novel component of the Bub2p-dependent spindle checkpoint in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

During mitosis, genomic integrity is maintained by the proper coordination of mitotic events through the spindle checkpoint. The bifurcated spindle checkpoint blocks cell cycle progression at metaphase by monitoring unattached kinetochores and inhibits mitotic exit in response to the incorrect orientation of the mitotic spindle. Bfa1p is a spindle checkpoint regulator of budding yeast in the Bub2p checkpoint pathway for proper mitotic exit. We have isolated a novel Bfa1p interacting protein named Ibd2p in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We found that IBD2 (Inhibition of Bud Division 2) is not an essential gene but its deletion mutant proceeded through the cell cycle in the presence of microtubule-destabilizing drugs, thereby inducing a sharp decrease in viability. In addition, overexpression of Mps1p caused partial mitotic arrest in ibd2Delta as well as in bub2Delta, suggesting that IBD2 encodes a novel component of the spindle checkpoint downstream of MPS1. Overexpression of Ibd2p induced mitotic arrest with increased levels of Clb2p in wild type and mad2Delta, but not in deletion mutants of BUB2 and BFA1. Pds1p was also stabilized by the overexpression of Ibd2p in wild-type cells. The mitotic arrest defects observed in ibd2Delta in the presence of nocodazole were restored by additional copies of BUB2, BFA1, and CDC5, whereas an extra copy of IBD2 could not rescue the mitotic arrest defects of bub2Delta and bfa1Delta. The mitotic arrest defects of ibd2Delta were not recovered by MAD2, or vice versa. Analysis of the double mutant combinations ibd2Deltamad2Delta, ibd2Deltabub2Delta, and ibd2Deltadyn1Delta showed that IBD2 belongs to the BUB2 epistasis group. Taken together, these data demonstrate that IBD2 encodes a novel component of the BUB2-dependent spindle checkpoint pathway that functions upstream of BUB2 and BFA1.     

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling regulates mitotic checkpoint protein levels in human breast cancer cells

Aberrant expression of mitotic checkpoint genes compromises mitotic checkpoint, leads to chromosome instability and tumorigenesis. However, the cell signals that control mitotic checkpoint gene expression have not been reported so far. In the present study we show that, in human breast cancer cells, chemical inhibition of Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), but not Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β), abrogates the mitotic arrest induced by nocodazole. Protein expression analysis reveals that inhibition of BMP signaling dramatically down regulates protein levels of mitotic checkpoint components BUB3, Hec1, TTK and MAD2, but inhibition of TGF-β has relatively minor effect on the expression of these proteins. Activation of BMP signaling specifically up regulates BUB3, and activation of Activin A signaling globally down regulates these proteins level. Furthermore, overexpressing MAD2, TTK, BUB3 or Hec1 significantly rescues the mitotic arrest defect caused by BMP inhibition. Our results demonstrated for the first time that TGF-β family cytokines are cellular signals regulating mitotic checkpoint and perturbations in intrinsic BMP signaling could lead to suppression of mitotic checkpoint signaling by downregulating key checkpoint proteins. The results suggest a possible mechanism by which dysregulation of TGF-β signaling causes mitotic checkpoint defects and drives tumorigenesis. The finding also provides a potential and more specific strategy for cancer prevention by targeting BMP and mitotic checkpoint connection.     

Spindle checkpoint proteins and chromosome-microtubule attachment in budding yeast

Accurate chromosome segregation depends on precise regulation of mitosis by the spindle checkpoint. This checkpoint monitors the status of kinetochore-microtubule attachment and delays the metaphase to anaphase transition until all kinetochores have formed stable bipolar connections to the mitotic spindle. Components of the spindle checkpoint include the mitotic arrest defective (MAD) genes MAD1-3, and the budding uninhibited by benzimidazole (BUB) genes BUB1 and BUB3. In animal cells, all known spindle checkpoint proteins are recruited to kinetochores during normal mitoses. In contrast, we show that whereas Saccharomyces cerevisiae Bub1p and Bub3p are bound to kinetochores early in mitosis as part of the normal cell cycle, Mad1p and Mad2p are kinetochore bound only in the presence of spindle damage or kinetochore lesions that interfere with chromosome-microtubule attachment. Moreover, although Mad1p and Mad2p perform essential mitotic functions during every division cycle in mammalian cells, they are required in budding yeast only when mitosis goes awry. We propose that differences in the behavior of spindle checkpoint proteins in animal cells and budding yeast result primarily from evolutionary divergence in spindle assembly pathways.     

Phosphorylation of human MAD1 by the BUB1 kinase in vitro

The BUB/MAD signaling pathway monitors attachment of chromosomes to spindle poles in mitotic cells. Mutations of the human BUB1 locus were identified in cancer cells exhibiting an unstable chromosomal complement. We report that the human BUB3 gene maps to a site on chromosome 10 subject to frequent modification in cancers. Thus, defects in BUB/MAD signaling may contribute to genetic instability and to cancer progression. In vitro, BUB1 and BUB3 proteins form a complex of monomers of each protein. These proteins interact with the human MAD1 gene product, a target of the HTLV-1 tax oncogene. This multiprotein complex exhibits a kinase activity with a requirement for lysine 821 in the BUB1 kinase motif, resulting in BUB1 autophosphorylation and phosphorylation of associated MAD1.     

Characterization of MAD2B and other mitotic spindle checkpoint genes.

Aneuploidy is a characteristic of the majority of human cancers, and recent work has suggested that mitotic checkpoint defects play a role in its development. To further explore this issue, we isolated a novel human gene, MAD2B (MAD2L2), which is homologous to the spindle checkpoint gene MAD2 (MAD2L1). We determined the chromosomal localization of it and other spindle checkpoint genes, including MAD1L1, MAD2, BUB3, TTK (MPS1L1), and CDC20. In addition, we resolved the genomic intron-exon structure of the human BUB1 gene. We then searched for mutations in these genes in a panel of 19 aneuploid colorectal tumors. No new mutations were identified, suggesting that genes yet to be discovered are responsible for most of the checkpoint defects observed in aneuploid cancers.     

Checkpoint genes required to delay cell division in response to nocodazole respond to impaired kinetochore function in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Inhibition of mitosis by antimitotic drugs is thought to occur by destruction of microtubules, causing cells to arrest through the action of one or more mitotic checkpoints. We have patterned experiments in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae after recent studies in mammalian cells that demonstrate the effectiveness of antimitotic drugs at concentrations that maintain spindle structure. We show that low concentrations of nocodazole delay cell division under the control of the previously identified mitotic checkpoint genes BUB1, BUB3, MAD1, and MAD2 and independently of BUB2. The same genes mediate the cell cycle delay induced in ctf13 mutants, limited for an essential kinetochore component. Our data suggest that a low concentration of nocodazole induces a cell cycle delay through checkpoint control that is sensitive to impaired kinetochore function. The BUB2 gene may be part of a separate checkpoint that responds to abnormal spindle structure.     

NEK2A interacts with MAD1 and possibly functions as a novel integrator of the spindle checkpoint signaling

Chromosome segregation in mitosis is orchestrated by protein kinase signaling cascades. A biochemical cascade named spindle checkpoint ensures the spatial and temporal order of chromosome segregation during mitosis. Here we report that spindle checkpoint protein MAD1 interacts with NEK2A, a human orthologue of the Aspergillus nidulans NIMA kinase. MAD1 interacts with NEK2A in vitro and in vivo via a leucine zipper-containing domain located at the C terminus of MAD1. Like MAD1, NEK2A is localized to HeLa cell kinetochore of mitotic cells. Elimination of NEK2A by small interfering RNA does not arrest cells in mitosis but causes aberrant premature chromosome segregation. NEK2A is required for MAD2 but not MAD1, BUB1, and HEC1 to associate with kinetochores. These NEK2A-eliminated or -suppressed cells display a chromosome bridge phenotype with sister chromatid inter-connected. Moreover, loss of NEK2A impairs mitotic checkpoint signaling in response to spindle damage by nocodazole, which affected mitotic escape and led to generation of cells with multiple nuclei. Our data demonstrate that NEK2A is a kinetochore-associated protein kinase essential for faithful chromosome segregation. We hypothesize that NEK2A links MAD2 molecular dynamics to spindle checkpoint signaling.     

Differential kinetochore requirements for establishment and maintenance of the spindle checkpoint are dependent on the mechanism of checkpoint activation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The spindle checkpoint in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an intracellular signal transduction pathway comprised of two branches that inhibit two different mitotic transitions in cells treated with benzimidazole drugs such as nocodazole. The kinetochore is an integral component of the MAD2 branch of the spindle checkpoint pathway. Current models propose that the kinetochore is required for both the establishment and maintenance of the spindle checkpoint but a role for the kinetochore in the maintenance of spindle checkpoint in yeast has never been directly tested. We used a temperature sensitive ndc10-1 mutant to inactivate kinetochores before and after arresting cells in mitosis to determine the role of kinetochores in the establishment and maintenance of the spindle checkpoint. We show that both establishment and maintenance requires kinetochore function in response to spindle damage induced by benzimidazole drugs. Excess expression of the Mps1 protein kinase causes wild type cells and ndc10-1 cells to arrest in mitosis. Unlike the spindle checkpoint arrest activated by benzimidazoles, this arrest can be maintained independently of kinetochores. The arrest induced by excess Mps1p is independent of BUB2. Therefore, mitotic arrest induced by excess Mps1p expression is due to the action of the MAD2 branch of the spindle checkpoint pathway and excess Mps1p acts downstream of the kinetochore.     

Differential Kinetochore Requirements for Establishment and Maintenance of the Spindle Checkpoint Are Dependent on the Mechanism of Checkpoint Activation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The spindle checkpoint in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an intracellular signal transduction pathway comprised of two branches that inhibit two different mitotic transitions in cells treated with benzimidazole drugs such as nocodazole. The kinetochore is an integral component of the MAD2 branch of the spindle checkpoint pathway. Current models propose that the kinetochore is required for both the establishment and maintenance of the spindle checkpoint but a role for the kinetochore in the maintenance of spindle checkpoint in yeast has never been directly tested. We used a temperature sensitive ndc10-1 mutant to inactivate kinetochores before and after arresting cells in mitosis to determine the role of kinetochores in the establishment and maintenance of the spindle checkpoint. We show that both establishment and maintenance requires kinetochore function in response to spindle damage induced by benzimidazole drugs. Excess expression of the Mps1 protein kinase causes wild type cells and ndc10-1 cells to arrest in mitosis. Unlike the spindle checkpoint arrest activated by benzimidazoles, this arrest can be maintained independently of kinetochores. The arrest induced by excess Mps1p is independent of BUB2. Therefore, mitotic arrest induced by excess Mps1p expression is due to the action of the MAD2 branch of the spindle checkpoint pathway and excess Mps1p acts downstream of the kinetochore.     

BUBR1 phosphorylation is regulated during mitotic checkpoint activation.

Eukaryotic cells have evolved a mechanism that delays the progression of mitosis until condensed chromosomes are properly positioned on the mitotic spindle. To understand the molecular basis of such monitoring mechanism in human cells, we have been studying genes that regulate the mitotic checkpoint. Our early studies have led to the cloning of a full-length cDNA encoding MAD3-like protein (also termed BUBR1/MAD3/SSK1). Dot blot analyses show that BUBR1 mRNA is expressed in tissues with a high mitotic index but not in differentiated tissues. Western blot analyses show that in asynchronous cells, BUBR1 protein primarily exhibits a molecular mass of 120 kDa, and its expression is detected in most cell lines examined. In addition, BUBR1 is present during various stages of the cell cycle. As cells enter later S and G2, BUBR1 levels are increased significantly. Nocodazole-arrested mitotic cells obtained by mechanical shake-off contain BUBR1 antigen with a slower mobility on denaturing SDS gels. Phosphatase treatment restores the slowly migrating band to the interphase state, indicating that the slow mobility of the BUBR1 antigen is attributable to phosphorylation. Furthermore, purified recombinant His6-BUBR1 is capable of autophosphorylation. Our studies indicate that BUBR1 phosphorylation status is regulated during spindle disruption. Considering its strong homology to BUB1 protein kinase, BUBR1 may also play an important role in mitotic checkpoint control by phosphorylation of a critical cellular component(s) of the mitotic checkpoint pathway.     

The spindle checkpoint of Saccharomyces cerevisiae responds to separable microtubule-dependent events

The spindle checkpoint regulates microtubule-based chromosome segregation and helps to maintain genomic stability [1,2]. Mutational inactivation of spindle checkpoint genes has been implicated in the progression of several types of human cancer. Recent evidence from budding yeast suggests that the spindle checkpoint is complex. Order-of-function experiments have defined two separable pathways within the checkpoint. One pathway, defined by MAD2, controls the metaphase-to-anaphase transition and the other, defined by BUB2, controls the exit from mitosis [3-6]. The relationships between the separate branches of the checkpoint, and especially the events that trigger the pathways, have not been defined. We localized a Bub2p-GFP fusion protein to the cytoplasmic side of the spindle pole body and used a kar9 mutant to show that cells with misoriented spindles are arrested in anaphase of mitosis. We used a kar9 bub2 double mutant to show that the arrest is BUB2 dependent. We conclude that the separate pathways of the spindle checkpoint respond to different classes of microtubules. The MAD2 branch of the pathway responds to kinetochore microtubule interactions and the BUB2 branch of the pathway operates within the cytoplasm, responding to spindle misorientation.     

FAT10 plays a role in the regulation of chromosomal stability

Aneuploidy is a key process in tumorigenesis. Dysfunction of the mitotic spindle checkpoint proteins has been implicated as a cause of aneuploidy in cells. We have previously reported that FAT10, a member of the ubiquitin-like modifier family of proteins, is overexpressed in several gastrointestinal and gynecological cancers. Here we show that FAT10 interacts with MAD2, a spindle checkpoint protein, during mitosis. Notably, we show that localization of MAD2 at the kinetochore during the prometaphase stage of the cell cycle was greatly reduced in FAT10-overexpressing cells. Furthermore, compared with parental HCT116 cells, fewer mitotic cells were observed after double thymidine-synchronized FAT10-overexpressing cells were released into nocodazole for more than 4 h. Nonetheless, when these double thymidine-treated cells were released into media, a similar number of G1 parental and FAT10-overexpressing HCT116 cells was observed throughout the 10-h time course. Additionally, more nocodazole-treated FAT10-overexpressing cells escape mitotic controls and are multinucleate compared with parental cells. Significantly, we observed a higher degree of variability in chromosome number in cells overexpressing FAT10. Hence, our data suggest that high levels of FAT10 protein in cells lead to increased mitotic nondisjunction and chromosome instability, and this effect is mediated by an abbreviated mitotic phase and the reduction in the kinetochore localization of MAD2 during the prometaphase stage of the cell cycle.     

Spindle assembly checkpoint: the third decade

The spindle assembly checkpoint controls cell cycle progression during mitosis, synchronizing it with the attachment of chromosomes to spindle microtubules. After the discovery of the mitotic arrest deficient (MAD) and budding uninhibited by benzymidazole (BUB) genes as crucial checkpoint components in 1991, the second decade of checkpoint studies (2001-2010) witnessed crucial advances in the elucidation of the mechanism through which the checkpoint effector, the mitotic checkpoint complex, targets the anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C) to prevent progression into anaphase. Concomitantly, the discovery that the Ndc80 complex and other components of the microtubule-binding interface of kinetochores are essential for the checkpoint response finally asserted that kinetochores are crucial for the checkpoint response. Nevertheless, the relationship between kinetochores and checkpoint control remains poorly understood. Crucial advances in this area in the third decade of checkpoint studies (2011-2020) are likely to be brought about by the characterization of the mechanism of kinetochore recruitment, activation and inactivation of checkpoint proteins, which remains elusive for the majority of checkpoint components. Here, we take a molecular view on the main challenges hampering this task.     

Reduced level of the spindle checkpoint protein BUB1B is associated with aneuploidy in colorectal cancers

Abstract.   Objectives : The majority of solid human malignancies demonstrate DNA aneuploidy as a consequence of chromosomal instability. We wanted to investigate whether Aurora A, Aurora B, BUB1B and Mad2 were associated with the development of aneuploidy in colorectal adenocarcinomas as suggested by several in vitro studies, and if their protein levels were related to alterations at the corresponding chromosomal loci. Materials and methods : Expression levels of these spindle proteins were investigated by immunohistochemistry using tissue micro-arrays in a series of DNA aneuploid and diploid colorectal adenocarcinomas previously examined for genomic aberrations by comparative genomic hybridization. Results : All proteins were overexpressed in malignant tissues compared to controls ( P <  0.001 for all). BUB1B level was significantly reduced in aneuploid compared to diploid cancers ( P =  0.001), whereas expression of the other proteins was not associated with DNA ploidy status. High levels of Aurora A ( P =  0.049) and low levels of Aurora B ( P =  0.031) were associated with poor prognosis, but no associations were revealed between protein expression and genomic aberration. Conclusions : A significant reduction of BUB1B level was detected in aneuploid compared to diploid colorectal cancers, consistent with earlier studies showing that loss of spindle checkpoint function may be involved in development of DNA aneuploidy. Our data also show that spindle proteins are overexpressed in colorectal cancers, and that expression of the Aurora kinases is associated with prognosis in colorectal cancer.     

Saccharomyces cerevisiae BUB2 prevents mitotic exit in response to both spindle and kinetochore damage

The spindle assembly checkpoint-mediated mitotic arrest depends on proteins that signal the presence of one or more unattached kinetochores and prevents the onset of anaphase in the presence of kinetochore or spindle damage. In the presence of either damage, bub2 cells initiate a preanaphase delay but do not maintain it. Inappropriate sister chromatid separation in nocodazole-treated bub2 cells is prevented when mitotic exit is blocked using a conditional tem1(c) mutant, indicating that the preanaphase failure in bub2 cells is a consequence of events downstream of TEM1 in the mitotic exit pathway. Using a conditional bub2(tsd) mutant, we demonstrate that the continuous presence of Bub2 protein is required for maintaining spindle damage-induced arrest. BUB2 is not required to maintain a DNA damage checkpoint arrest, revealing a specificity for spindle assembly checkpoint function. In a yeast two-hybrid assay and in vitro, Bub2 protein interacts with the septin protein Cdc3, which is essential for cytokinesis. These data support the view that the spindle assembly checkpoint encompasses regulation of distinct mitotic steps, including a MAD2-directed block to anaphase initiation and a BUB2-directed block to TEM1-dependent exit.