Interrogating cell division errors using random and chromosome-specific missegregation approaches

Accurate segregation of the duplicated genome in mitosis is essential for maintaining genetic stability. Errors in this process can cause numerical and/or structural chromosome abnormalities – hallmark genomic features commonly associated with both tumorigenesis and developmental disorders. A cell-based approach was recently developed permitting inducible missegregation of the human Y chromosome by selectively disrupting kinetochore assembly onto the Y centromere. Although this strategy initially requires several steps of genetic manipulation, it is easy to use, highly efficient and specific for the Y without affecting the autosomes or the X, and does not require cell cycle synchronization or mitotic perturbation. Here we describe currently available tools for studying chromosome segregation errors, aneuploidy, and micronuclei, as well as discuss how the Y-specific missegregation system has been used to elucidate how chromosomal micronucleation can trigger a class of extensive rearrangements termed chromothripsis. The combinatorial use of these different tools will allow unresolved aspects of cell division defects and chromosomal instability to be experimentally explored.     

Regulation of borealin by phosphorylation at serine 219

The chromosomal passenger complex consisting of Borealin, INCENP, Survivin, and Aurora B follows a dynamic pattern of localization to perform its role as a regulator of chromosome alignment, aspects of the spindle assembly checkpoint, and cytokinesis. Post‐translational modifications of chromosomal passenger proteins play an important role in regulating the localization and function of the complex. Borealin displays a slower electrophoretic mobility during mitosis as a result of phosphorylation. Here we show that phosphorylation at S219 is responsible for this mobility shift. An S219A mutant of Borealin that cannot be phosphorylated at this site displays a defect in centromere localization that is evident in cells arrested in mitosis with nocodazole. Further, the S219A form of Borealin is unable to efficiently rescue mitotic defects that occur upon knock‐down of the endogenous protein. These defects are correlated with a reduction in the intensity of Mad2 staining at kinetochores in cells expressing the S219A form of Borealin. These results highlight an important role for phosphorylation of Borealin at S219 in the proper progression through mitosis. J. Cell. Biochem. 111: 1291–1298, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Role of the fission yeast SUMO E3 ligase Pli1p in centromere and telomere maintenance

Sumoylation represents a conserved mechanism of post-translational protein modification. We report that Pli1p, the unique fission yeast member of the SP-RING family, is a SUMO E3 ligase in vivo and in vitro. pli1Delta cells display no obvious mitotic growth defects, but are sensitive to the microtubule-destabilizing drug TBZ and exhibit enhanced minichromosome loss. The weakened centromeric function of pli1Delta cells may be related to the defective heterochromatin structure at the central core, as shown by the reduced silencing of an ura4 variegation reporter gene inserted at cnt and imr. Interestingly, pli1Delta cells also exhibit enhanced loss of the ura4 reporter at these loci, likely by gene conversion using homologous sequences as information donors. Moreover, pli1Delta cells exhibit consistent telomere length increase, possibly achieved by a similar process. Point mutations within the RING finger of Pli1p totally or partially reproduce the pli1 deletion phenotypes, thus correlating with their sumoylation activity. Altogether, these results strongly suggest that Pli1p, and by extension sumoylation, is involved in mechanisms that regulate recombination in particular heterochromatic repeated sequences.     

Rad51 suppresses gross chromosomal rearrangement at centromere in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Centromere that plays a pivotal role in chromosome segregation is composed of repetitive elements in many eukaryotes. Although chromosomal regions containing repeats are the hotspots of rearrangements, little is known about the stability of centromere repeats. Here, by using a minichromosome that has a complete set of centromere sequences, we have developed a fission yeast system to detect gross chromosomal rearrangements (GCRs) that occur spontaneously. Southern and comprehensive genome hybridization analyses of rearranged chromosomes show two types of GCRs: translocation between homologous chromosomes and formation of isochromosomes in which a chromosome arm is replaced by a copy of the other. Remarkably, all the examined isochromosomes contain the breakpoint in centromere repeats, showing that isochromosomes are produced by centromere rearrangement. Mutations in the Rad3 checkpoint kinase increase both types of GCRs. In contrast, the deletion of Rad51 recombinase preferentially elevates isochromosome formation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis shows that Rad51 localizes at centromere around S phase. These data suggest that Rad51 suppresses rearrangements of centromere repeats that result in isochromosome formation.     

TeCK database: a comprehensive collection of telomeric and centromeric sequences with their associated proteins

Telomeres and centromere are two essential features of all eukaryotic chromosomes. They provide function that is necessary for the stability of chromosomes. We developed a comprehensive database named TeCK, which covers a gamut of sequence and other related information about telomeric patterns, telomere repeat sequences, centromere sequences and centromeric patterns present in chromosomes. It also contains information about telomerase ribo-nucleoprotein complexes, centromere binding protein and centromere DNA-binding protein complexes. The database also includes a collection of all kinetochore-associated proteins including inner, outer and central kinetochore proteins. The database can be searched using a user-friendly web interface. AVAILABILITY: http://www.bioinfosastra.com/services/teck/index.html.     

Tumour Suppressor Mechanisms in the Control of Chromosome Stability: Insights from BRCA2

Cancer is unique amongst human diseases in that its cellular manifestations arise and evolve through the acquisition of somatic alterations in the genome. In particular, instability in the number and structure of chromosomes is a near-universal feature of the genomic alterations associated with epithelial cancers, and is triggered by the inactivation of tumour suppressor mechanisms that preserve chromosome integrity in normal cells. The nature of these mechanisms, and how their inactivation promotes carcinogenesis, remains enigmatic. I will review recent work from our laboratory on the tumour suppressor BRCA2 that addresses these issues, focusing on new insights into cancer pathogenesis and therapy that are emerging from improved understanding of the molecular basis of chromosomal instability in BRCA2-deficient cancer cells.     

Dysfunctional telomeres activate an ATM-ATR-dependent DNA damage response to suppress tumorigenesis

The POT1 (protection of telomeres) protein binds the single-stranded G-rich overhang and is essential for both telomere end protection and telomere length regulation. Telomeric binding of POT1 is enhanced by its interaction with TPP1. In this study, we demonstrate that mouse Tpp1 confers telomere end protection by recruiting Pot1a and Pot1b to telomeres. Knockdown of Tpp1 elicits a p53-dependent growth arrest and an ATM-dependent DNA damage response at telomeres. In contrast to depletion of Trf2, which activates ATM, removal of Pot1a and Pot1b from telomeres initiates an ATR-dependent DNA damage response (DDR). Finally, we show that telomere dysfunction as a result of Tpp1 depletion promotes chromosomal instability and tumorigenesis in the absence of an ATM-dependent DDR. Our results uncover a novel ATR-dependent DDR at telomeres that is normally shielded by POT1 binding to the single-stranded G-overhang. In addition, our results suggest that loss of ATM can cooperate with dysfunctional telomeres to promote cellular transformation and tumor formation in vivo.     

Genome instability: Does genetic diversity amplification drive tumorigenesis?

Recent data show that catastrophic events during one cell cycle can cause massive genome damage producing viable clones with unstable genomes. This is in contrast with the traditional view that tumorigenesis requires a long‐term process in which mutations gradually accumulate over decades. These sudden events are likely to result in a large increase in genomic diversity within a relatively short time, providing the opportunity for selective advantages to be gained by a subset of cells within a population. This genetic diversity amplification, arising from a single aberrant cell cycle, may drive a population conversion from benign to malignant. However, there is likely a period of relative genome stability during the clonal expansion of tumors – this may provide an opportunity for therapeutic intervention, especially if mechanisms that limit tolerance of aneuploidy are exploited.     

Genome-scale patterns in the loss of heterozygosity incidence in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Former studies have established that loss of heterozygosity can be a key driver of sequence evolution in unicellular eukaryotes and tissues of metazoans. However, little is known about whether the distribution of loss of heterozygosity events is largely random or forms discernible patterns across genomes. To initiate our experiments, we introduced selectable markers to both arms of all chromosomes of the budding yeast. Subsequent extensive assays, repeated over several genetic backgrounds and environments, provided a wealth of information on the genetic and environmental determinants of loss of heterozygosity. Three findings stand out. First, the number of loss of heterozygosity events per unit time was more than 25 times higher for growing than starving cells. Second, loss of heterozygosity was most frequent when regions of homology around a recombination site were identical, about a half-% sequence divergence was sufficient to reduce its incidence. Finally, the density of loss of heterozygosity events was highly dependent on the genome’s physical architecture. It was several-fold higher on short chromosomal arms than on long ones. Comparably large differences were seen within a single arm where regions close to a centromere were visibly less affected than regions close, though usually not strictly adjacent, to a telomere. We suggest that the observed uneven distribution of loss of heterozygosity events could have been caused not only by an uneven density of initial DNA damages. Location-depended differences in the mode of DNA repair, or its effect on fitness, were likely to operate as well.     

Fresh WNT into the regulation of mitosis

Canonical Wnt signaling triggering β-catenin-dependent gene expression contributes to cell cycle progression, in particular at the G1/S transition. Recently, however, it became clear that the cell cycle can also feed back on Wnt signaling at the G2/M transition. This is illustrated by the fact that mitosis-specific cyclin-dependent kinases can phosphorylate the Wnt co-receptor LRP6 to prime the pathway for incoming Wnt signals when cells enter mitosis. In addition, there is accumulating evidence that various Wnt pathway components might exert additional, Wnt-independent functions that are important for proper regulation of mitosis. The importance of Wnt pathways during mitosis was most recently enforced by the discovery of Wnt signaling contributing to the stabilization of proteins other than β-catenin, specifically at G2/M and during mitosis. This Wnt-mediated stabilization of proteins, now referred to as Wnt/STOP, might on one hand contribute to maintaining a critical cell size required for cell division and, on the other hand, for the faithful execution of mitosis itself. In fact, most recently we have shown that Wnt/STOP is required for ensuring proper microtubule dynamics within mitotic spindles, which is pivotal for accurate chromosome segregation and for the maintenance of euploidy.     

Rap1 prevents fusions between long telomeres in fission yeast

The conserved Rap1 protein is part of the shelterin complex that plays critical roles in chromosome end protection and telomere length regulation. Previous studies have addressed how fission yeast Rap1 contributes to telomere length maintenance, but the mechanism by which the protein inhibits end fusions has remained elusive. Here, we use a mutagenesis screen in combination with high‐throughput sequencing to identify several amino acid positions in Rap1 that have key roles in end protection. Interestingly, mutations at these sites render cells susceptible to genome instability in a conditional manner, whereby longer telomeres are prone to undergoing end fusions, while telomeres within the normal length range are sufficiently protected. The protection of long telomeres is in part dependent on their nuclear envelope attachment mediated by the Rap1–Bqt4 interaction. Our data demonstrate that long telomeres represent a challenge for the maintenance of genome integrity, thereby providing an explanation for species‐specific upper limits on telomere length.     

直结肠癌BUBR1的过度表达与TP53突变及微卫星状态关系提示其过度表达与染色体不稳定表型有关

在有丝分裂过程中BUBR1监视微管与着丝点的结合,是保证染色体均等分离的重要分子机制之一.BUBIB变异家谱研究及其敲除模型的研究表明,BUBR1缺陷与染色体不稳定性及肿瘤的发生直接相关.近来在数种人类肿瘤,对BUBR1蛋白过度表达有所报道.但在直结肠癌,BUBR1的过度表达是否与染色体不稳定性的发生有关目前仍无定论.在人类结直肠癌的遗传不稳定性主要表现为两种类型,染色体不稳定性及微卫星不稳定性,它们提示了两条独立的肿瘤发生路径.一般认为不存在高频度微卫星不稳定性表型的肿瘤通过染色体不稳定途径癌变.P53蛋白通过多种机制对维护遗传稳定性起到重要的作用,TP53基因突变经常与染色体不稳定现象并存.DNA倍体情况也是染色体不稳定研究不可缺少的指标.本研究采用免疫组织化学法检测了一组93例进展期散发结直肠癌BUBR1蛋白的表达情况,直接测序法检测TP53变异.高分辨率荧光标记微卫星不稳定检测技术检测微卫星状态,固相激光扫描细胞仪技术检测DNA倍体情况.我们分析了BUBR1表达与三种反映遗传背景的因子的关系.BUBR1蛋白过度表达在人结直肠癌较为常见.在非高频度微卫星不稳定的结直肠癌,BUBR1蛋白过度表达率明显为高(P＜0.01),在TP53基因突变的病例其过度表达率亦较高(P＜0.05).BUBR1蛋白的过度表达与DNA异倍体无统计学相关,但DNA异倍体病例的BuBRl过度表达有偏高倾向.BuBRl表达情况与常用的临床病理学指标无统计学相关.BuBRl过度表达同微卫星状态及TP53突变的关系明确的提示,在人类散发结直肠癌,BUBR1蛋白过度表达与染色体不稳定状态有关.BUBR1过度表达作为一种常见的分子异常,对于肿瘤的早诊预防提供新的标志物.并可能成为治疗的新靶点.     

Prolonged mitosis causes separase deregulation and chromosome nondisjunction

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PICH and BLM limit histone association with anaphase centromeric DNA threads and promote their resolution

Centromeres nucleate the formation of kinetochores and are vital for chromosome segregation during mitosis. The SNF2 family helicase PICH (Plk1-interacting checkpoint helicase) and the BLM (the Bloom's syndrome protein) helicase decorate ultrafine histone-negative DNA threads that link the segregating sister centromeres during anaphase. The functions of PICH and BLM at these threads are not understood, however. Here, we show that PICH binds to BLM and enables BLM localization to anaphase centromeric threads. PICH- or BLM-RNAi cells fail to resolve these threads in anaphase. The fragmented threads form centromeric-chromatin-containing micronuclei in daughter cells. Anaphase threads in PICH- and BLM-RNAi cells contain histones and centromere markers. Recombinant purified PICH has nucleosome remodelling activities in vitro. We propose that PICH and BLM unravel centromeric chromatin and keep anaphase DNA threads mostly free of nucleosomes, thus allowing these threads to span long distances between rapidly segregating centromeres without breakage and providing a spatiotemporal window for their resolution.     

A CENP-S/X complex assembles at the centromere in S and G2 phases of the human cell cycle

The functional identity of centromeres arises from a set of specific nucleoprotein particle subunits of the centromeric chromatin fibre. These include CENP-A and histone H3 nucleosomes and a novel nucleosome-like complex of CENPs -T, -W, -S and -X. Fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) revealed that human CENP-S and -X exist principally in complex in soluble form and retain proximity when assembled at centromeres. Conditional labelling experiments show that they both assemble de novo during S phase and G2, increasing approximately three- to fourfold in abundance at centromeres. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) measurements documented steady-state exchange between soluble and assembled pools, with CENP-X exchanging approximately 10 times faster than CENP-S (t_1/2 ∼ 10 min versus 120 min). CENP-S binding to sites of DNA damage was quite distinct, with a FRAP half-time of approximately 160 s. Fluorescent two-hybrid analysis identified CENP-T as a uniquely strong CENP-S binding protein and this association was confirmed by FRET, revealing a centromere-bound complex containing CENP-S, CENP-X and CENP-T in proximity to histone H3 but not CENP-A. We propose that deposition of the CENP-T/W/S/X particle reveals a kinetochore-specific chromatin assembly pathway that functions to switch centromeric chromatin to a mitosis-competent state after DNA replication. Centromeres shuttle between CENP-A-rich, replication-competent and H3-CENP-T/W/S/X-rich mitosis-competent compositions in the cell cycle.     

Expression profile of telomere‐associated genes in multiple myeloma

To further contribute to the understanding of multiple myeloma, we have focused our research interests on the mechanisms by which tumour plasma cells have a higher survival rate than normal plasma cells. In this article, we study the expression profile of genes involved in the regulation and protection of telomere length, telomerase activity and apoptosis in samples from patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, smouldering multiple myeloma, multiple myeloma (MM) and plasma cell leukaemia (PCL), as well as several human myeloma cell lines (HMCLs). Using conventional cytogenetic and fluorescence in situ hybridization studies, we identified a high number of telomeric associations (TAs). Moreover, telomere length measurements by terminal restriction fragment (TRF) assay showed a shorter mean TRF peak value, with a consistent correlation with the number of TAs. Using gene expression arrays and quantitative PCR we identified the hTERT gene together with 16 other genes directly involved in telomere length maintenance: HSPA9, KRAS, RB1, members of the Small nucleolar ribonucleoproteins family, A/B subfamily of ubiquitously expressed heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins, and 14‐3‐3 family. The expression levels of these genes were even higher than those in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which have unlimited proliferation capacity. In conclusion, the gene signature suggests that MM tumour cells are able to maintain stable short telomere lengths without exceeding the short critical length, allowing cell divisions to continue. We propose that this could be a mechanism contributing to MM tumour cells expansion in the bone marrow (BM).