PP2A-B56 opposes Mps1 phosphorylation of Knl1 and thereby promotes spindle assembly checkpoint silencing

The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) monitors correct attachment of chromosomes to microtubules, an important safeguard mechanism ensuring faithful chromosome segregation in eukaryotic cells. How the SAC signal is turned off once all the chromosomes have successfully attached to the spindle remains an unresolved question. Mps1 phosphorylation of Knl1 results in recruitment of the SAC proteins Bub1, Bub3, and BubR1 to the kinetochore and production of the wait-anaphase signal. SAC silencing is therefore expected to involve a phosphatase opposing Mps1. Here we demonstrate in vivo and in vitro that BubR1-associated PP2A-B56 is a key phosphatase for the removal of the Mps1-mediated Knl1 phosphorylations necessary for Bub1/BubR1 recruitment in mammalian cells. SAC silencing is thus promoted by a negative feedback loop involving the Mps1-dependent recruitment of a phosphatase opposing Mps1. Our findings extend the previously reported role for BubR1-associated PP2A-B56 in opposing Aurora B and suggest that BubR1-bound PP2A-B56 integrates kinetochore surveillance and silencing of the SAC.     

Bub3 Is a Spindle Assembly Checkpoint Protein Regulating Chromosome Segregation during Mouse Oocyte Meiosis

In mitosis, the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) prevents anaphase onset until all chromosomes have been attached to the spindle microtubules and aligned correctly at the equatorial metaphase plate. The major checkpoint proteins in mitosis consist of mitotic arrest-deficient (Mad)1–3, budding uninhibited by benzimidazole (Bub)1, Bub3, and monopolar spindle 1(Mps1). During meiosis, for the formation of a haploid gamete, two consecutive rounds of chromosome segregation occur with only one round of DNA replication. To pull homologous chromosomes to opposite spindle poles during meiosis I, both sister kinetochores of a homologue must face toward the same pole which is very different from mitosis and meiosis II. As a core member of checkpoint proteins, the individual role of Bub3 in mammalian oocyte meiosis is unclear. In this study, using overexpression and RNA interference (RNAi) approaches, we analyzed the role of Bub3 in mouse oocyte meiosis. Our data showed that overexpressed Bub3 inhibited meiotic metaphase-anaphase transition by preventing homologous chromosome and sister chromatid segregations in meiosis I and II, respectively. Misaligned chromosomes, abnormal polar body and double polar bodies were observed in Bub3 knock-down oocytes, causing aneuploidy. Furthermore, through cold treatment combined with Bub3 overexpression, we found that overexpressed Bub3 affected the attachments of microtubules and kinetochores during metaphase-anaphase transition. We propose that as a member of SAC, Bub3 is required for regulation of both meiosis I and II, and is potentially involved in kinetochore-microtubule attachment in mammalian oocytes.     

Kinetochore-microtubule interactions “in check” by Bub1, Bub3 and BubR1: The dual task of attaching and signalling

The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) prevents anaphase onset until all chromosomes accomplish proper bipolar attachments to the mitotic spindle and come under tension, thereby ensuring the fidelity of chromosome segregation. Despite significant advances in our understanding of SAC signalling, a clear link between checkpoint signalling and the molecular mechanisms underlying chromosome attachment to microtubules has not been established so far. However, independent studies from many groups have interestingly found that the bone-a-fide Bub1, BubR1 and Bub3 SAC proteins are themselves required for proper kinetochore-microtubule (K-MT) interactions. Here, we review these findings and discuss the specific contribution of each of these proteins in the regulation of K-MT attachment, taking into consideration their interdependencies for kinetochore localization as well as their relationship with other proteins with a known role in chromosome attachment and congression.     

Hmga1 null mouse embryonic fibroblasts display downregulation of spindle assembly checkpoint gene expression associated to nuclear and karyotypic abnormalities

The High Mobility Group A1 proteins (HMGA1) are nonhistone chromatinic proteins with a critical role in development and cancer. We have recently reported that HMGA1 proteins are able to increase the expression of spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) genes, thus impairing SAC function and causing chromosomal instability in cancer cells. Moreover, we found a significant correlation between HMGA1 and SAC genes expression in human colon carcinomas. Here, we report that mouse embryonic fibroblasts null for the Hmga1 gene show downregulation of Bub1, Bub1b, Mad2l1 and Ttk SAC genes, and present several features of chromosomal instability, such as nuclear abnormalities, binucleation, micronuclei and karyotypic alterations. Interestingky, also MEFs carrying only one impaired Hmga1 allele present karyotypic alterations. These results indicate that HMGA1 proteins regulate SAC genes expression and, thereby, genomic stability also in embryonic cells.     

DNA damage activates the SAC in an ATM/ATR-dependent manner, independently of the kinetochore

The DNA damage checkpoint and the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) are two important regulatory mechanisms that respond to different lesions. The DNA damage checkpoint detects DNA damage, initiates protein kinase cascades, and inhibits the cell cycle. The SAC relies on kinetochore-dependent assembly of protein complexes to inhibit mitosis when chromosomes are detached from the spindle. The two checkpoints are thought to function independently. Here we show that yeast cells lacking the DNA damage checkpoint arrest prior to anaphase in response to low doses of the DNA damaging agent methyl methane sulfonate (MMS). The arrest requires the SAC proteins Mad1, Mad2, Mad3, Bub1, and Bub3 and works through Cdc20 and Pds1 but unlike the normal SAC, does not require a functional kinetochore. Mec1 (ATR) and Tel1 (ATM) are also required, independently of Chk1 and Rad53, suggesting that Mec1 and Tel1 inhibit anaphase in response to DNA damage by utilizing SAC proteins. Our results demonstrate cross-talk between the two checkpoints and suggest that assembling inhibitory complexes of SAC proteins at unattached kinetochores is not obligatory for their inhibitory activity. Furthermore, our results suggest that there are novel, important targets of ATM and ATR for cell cycle regulation.     

When Mad met Bub

The faithful segregation of chromosomes into daughter cells is essential for cellular and organismal viability. Errors in this process cause aneuploidy, a hallmark of cancer and several congenital diseases. For proper separation, chromosomes attach to microtubules of the mitotic spindle via their kinetochores, large protein structures assembled on centromeric chromatin. Kinetochores are also crucial for a cell cycle feedback mechanism known as the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) 1 . The SAC forces cells to remain in mitosis until all chromosomes are properly attached to microtubules. At the beginning of mitosis, the SAC proteins—Mad1, Mad2, Bub1, Bub3, BubR1, Mps1, and Cdc20—are recruited to kinetochores in a hierarchical and interdependent fashion (Fig  1 A). There they monitor, in ways that are not fully clarified, the formation of kinetochore–microtubule attachments 1 . Two studies recently published in EMBO reports by the groups of Silke Hauf 2 and Jakob Nilsson 3 , and a recent study by London and Biggins in Genes & Development 4 , shed new light on the conserved SAC protein Mad1.     

MPS1/Mph1 phosphorylates the kinetochore protein KNL1/Spc7 to recruit SAC components

The genomic stability of all organisms depends on the precise partition of chromosomes to daughter cells. The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) senses unattached kinetochores and prevents premature entry to anaphase, thus ensuring that all chromosomes attach to opposite spindle poles (bi-orientation) during mitosis. MPS1 is an evolutionarily conserved protein kinase required for the SAC and chromosome bi-orientation. Yet, its primary cellular substrate has remained elusive. We show that fission yeast Mph1 (MPS1 homologue) phosphorylates the kinetochore protein Spc7 (KNL1/Blinkin homologue) at the MELT repeat sequences. This phosphorylation promotes the in vitro binding to the Bub1-Bub3 complex, which is required for kinetochore-based SAC activation (Mad1-Mad2-Mad3 localization) and chromosome alignment. Accordingly, a non-phosphorylatable spc7-12A mutation abolishes kinetochore targeting of Bub1-Bub3, whereas a phospho-mimetic spc7-12E mutation forces them to localize at kinetochores throughout the entire cell cycle, even in the absence of Mph1. Thus, MPS1/Mph1 kinase locating at the unattached kinetochores initially creates a mark, which is crucial for SAC activation and chromosome bi-orientation. This mechanism seems to be conserved in human cells.     

Bub1 Prevents Chromosome Misalignment and Precocious Anaphase during Mouse Oocyte Meiosis

In mitosis the checkpoint proteins ensure faithful chromosome segregation by delaying onset of anaphase until all sister chromatids align at the metaphase plate of the bipolar spindle correctly. In the present study we blocked the function of Bub1 during meiosis by microinjecting anti-Bub1 specific antibody into cytoplasm of mouse oocytes, and found that depletion of Bub1 induced evident cyclin B degradation and precocious anaphase onset. Bub1 suppression also overrode the checkpoint-dependent cell cycle arrest provoked by a low dosage of nocodazole. Furthermore, Bub1 depletion induced a significantly higher percentage of oocytes with misaligned chromosomes. In addition, we depicted the localization dynamics of Bub1 in response to spindle damage and its relationship with microtubules and chromosomes, providing further evidence for Bub1’s role as a spindle checkpoint protein. Our data suggest that Bub1 is a critical spindle checkpoint protein that regulates accurate chromosome alignment and homolog disjunction in mammalian oocyte meiosis.     

Dynein-dependent transport of spindle assembly checkpoint proteins off kinetochores toward spindle poles

A predominant mechanism of spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) silencing is dynein-mediated transport of certain kinetochore proteins along microtubules. There are still conflicting data as to which SAC proteins are dynein cargoes. Using two ATP reduction assays, we found that the core SAC proteins Mad1, Mad2, Bub1, BubR1, and Bub3 redistributed from attached kinetochores to spindle poles, in a dynein-dependent manner. This redistribution still occurred in metaphase-arrested cells, at a time when the SAC should be satisfied and silenced. Unexpectedly, we found that a pool of Hec1 and Mis12 also relocalizes to spindle poles, suggesting KMN components as additional dynein cargoes. The potential significance of these results for SAC silencing is discussed.     

The kinetochore protein Bub1 participates in the DNA damage response

The DNA damage response (DDR) and the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) are two critical mechanisms by which mammalian cells maintain genome stability. There is a growing body of evidence that DDR elements and SAC components crosstalk. Here we report that Bub1 (budding uninhibited by benzimidazoles 1), one of the critical kinetochore proteins essential for SAC, is required for optimal DDRs. We found that knocking-down Bub1 resulted in prolonged H2AX foci and comet tail formation as well as hypersensitivity in response to ionizing radiation (IR). Further, we found that Bub1-mediated Histone H2A Threonine 121 phosphorylation was induced after IR in an ATM-dependent manner. We demonstrated that ATM phosphorylated Bub1 on serine 314 in response to DNA damage in vivo. Finally, we showed that ATM-mediated Bub1 serine 314 phosphorylation was required for IR-induced Bub1 activation and for the optimal DDR. Together, we elucidate the molecular mechanism of DNA damage-induced Bub1 activation and highlight a critical role of Bub1 in DDR.     

Phosphodependent recruitment of Bub1 and Bub3 to Spc7/KNL1 by Mph1 kinase maintains the spindle checkpoint

The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) is the major surveillance system that ensures that sister chromatids do not separate until all chromosomes are correctly bioriented during mitosis. Components of the checkpoint include Mad1, Mad2, Mad3 (BubR1), Bub3, and the kinases Bub1, Mph1 (Mps1), and Aurora B. Checkpoint proteins are recruited to kinetochores when individual kinetochores are not bound to spindle microtubules or not under tension. Kinetochore association of Mad2 causes it to undergo a conformational change, which promotes its association to Mad3 and Cdc20 to form the mitotic checkpoint complex (MCC). The MCC inhibits the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) until the checkpoint is satisfied. SAC silencing derepresses Cdc20-APC/C activity. This triggers the polyubiquitination of securin and cyclin, which promotes the dissolution of sister chromatid cohesion and mitotic progression. We, and others, recently showed that association of PP1 to the Spc7/Spc105/KNL1 family of kinetochore proteins is necessary to stabilize microtubule-kinetochore attachments and silence the SAC. We now report that phosphorylation of the conserved MELT motifs in Spc7 by Mph1 (Mps1) recruits Bub1 and Bub3 to the kinetochore and that this is required to maintain the SAC signal.     

Spatial regulation of the spindle assembly checkpoint and anaphase‐promoting complex in Aspergillus nidulans

The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) plays a critical role in preventing mitotic errors by inhibiting anaphase until all kinetochores are correctly attached to spindle microtubules. In spite of the economic and medical importance of filamentous fungi, relatively little is known about the behavior of SAC proteins in these organisms. In our efforts to understand the role of γ‐tubulin in cell cycle regulation, we have created functional fluorescent protein fusions of four SAC proteins in Aspergillus nidulans, the homologs of Mad2, Mps1, Bub1/BubR1 and Bub3. Time‐lapse imaging reveals that SAC proteins are in distinct compartments of the cell until early mitosis when they co‐localize at the spindle pole body. SAC activity is, thus, spatially regulated in A. nidulans. Likewise, Cdc20, an activator of the anaphase‐promoting complex/cyclosome, is excluded from interphase nuclei, but enters nuclei at mitotic onset and accumulates to a higher level in mitotic nuclei than in the surrounding nucleoplasm before leaving in anaphase/telophase. The activity of this critical cell cycle regulatory complex is likely regulated by the location of Cdc20. Finally, the γ‐tubulin mutation mipAD159 causes a nuclear‐specific failure of nuclear localization of Mps1 and Bub1/R1 but not of Cdc20, Bub3 or Mad2.     

Bub1 and Bub3 promote the conversion from monopolar to bipolar chromosome attachment independently of shugoshin

The eukaryotic spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) delays anaphase in the presence of chromosome attachment errors. Bub3 has been reported to be required for SAC activity in all eukaryotes examined so far. We find that Bub3, unlike its binding partner Bub1, is not essential for the SAC in fission yeast. As Bub3 is needed for the efficient kinetochore localization of Bub1, and of Mad1, Mad2 and Mad3, this implies that most SAC proteins do not need to be enriched at the kinetochores for the SAC to function. We find that Bub3 is also dispensable for shugoshin localization to the centromeres, which is the second known function of Bub1. Instead, Bub3, together with Bub1, has a specific function in promoting the conversion from chromosome mono‐orientation to bi‐orientation.     

Bub1 is a fission yeast kinetochore scaffold protein, and is sufficient to recruit other spindle checkpoint proteins to ectopic sites on chromosomes

The spindle checkpoint delays anaphase onset until all chromosomes have attached in a bi-polar manner to the mitotic spindle. Mad and Bub proteins are recruited to unattached kinetochores, and generate diffusible anaphase inhibitors. Checkpoint models propose that Mad1 and Bub1 act as stable kinetochore-bound scaffolds, to enhance recruitment of Mad2 and Mad3/BubR1, but this remains untested for Bub1. Here, fission yeast FRAP experiments confirm that Bub1 stably binds kinetochores, and by tethering Bub1 to telomeres we demonstrate that it is sufficient to recruit anaphase inhibitors in a kinase-independent manner. We propose that the major checkpoint role for Bub1 is as a signalling scaffold.     

The A78V mutation in the Mad3-like domain of Schizosaccharomyces pombe Bub1p perturbs nuclear accumulation and kinetochore targeting of Bub1p, Bub3p, and Mad3p and spindle assembly checkpoint function

During mitosis, the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) responds to faulty attachments between kinetochores and the mitotic spindle by imposing a metaphase arrest until the defect is corrected, thereby preventing chromosome missegregation. A genetic screen to isolate SAC mutants in fission yeast yielded point mutations in three fission yeast SAC genes: mad1, bub3, and bub1. The bub1-A78V mutant is of particular interest because it produces a wild-type amount of protein that is mutated in the conserved but uncharacterized Mad3-like region of Bub1p. Characterization of mutant cells demonstrates that the alanine at position 78 in the Mad3-like domain of Bub1p is required for: 1) cell cycle arrest induced by SAC activation; 2) kinetochore accumulation of Bub1p in checkpoint-activated cells; 3) recruitment of Bub3p and Mad3p, but not Mad1p, to kinetochores in checkpoint-activated cells; and 4) nuclear accumulation of Bub1p, Bub3p, and Mad3p, but not Mad1p, in cycling cells. Increased targeting of Bub1p-A78V to the nucleus by an exogenous nuclear localization signal does not significantly increase kinetochore localization or SAC function, but GFP fused to the isolated Bub1p Mad 3-like accumulates in the nucleus. These data indicate that Bub1p-A78V is defective in both nuclear accumulation and kinetochore targeting and that a threshold level of nuclear Bub1p is necessary for the nuclear accumulation of Bub3p and Mad3p.     

Mad3/BubR1 Phosphorylation during Spindle Checkpoint Activation Depends on both Polo and Aurora Kinases in Budding Yeast

During mitosis the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) delays the onset of anaphase and mitotic exit until all chromosomes are bipolarly attached to spindle fibers. Both lack of attachment due to spindle/kinetochore defects and lack of tension across kinetochores generate the “wait anaphase” signal transmitted by the SAC, which involves the evolutionarily conserved Mad1, Mad2, Mad3/BubR1, Bub1, Bub3 and Mps1 proteins, and inhibits the activity of the ubiquitin ligase Cdc20/APC, that promotes both sister chromatid dissociation in anaphase and mitotic exit. In particular, Mad3/BubR1 is directly implicated, together with Mad2, in Cdc20 inactivation in both human and yeast cells, suggesting that its activity is likely finely regulated. We show that budding yeast Mad3, like its human orthologue BubR1, is a phosphoprotein that is hyperphosphorylated during mitosis and when SAC activation is triggered by microtubule depolymerizing agents, kinetochore defects or lack of kinetochore tension. In vivo Mad3 phosphorylation depends on the Polo kinase Cdc5 and, to a minor extent, the Aurora B kinase Ipl1. Accordingly, replacing with alanines five serine residues belonging to Polo kinase-dependent putative phosphorylation sites dramatically reduces Mad3 phosphorylation, suggesting that Mad3 is likely an in vivo target of Cdc5.     

The spindle assembly checkpoint is not essential for CSF arrest of mouse oocytes

In Xenopus oocytes, the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) kinase Bub1 is required for cytostatic factor (CSF)-induced metaphase arrest in meiosis II. To investigate whether matured mouse oocytes are kept in metaphase by a SAC-mediated inhibition of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) complex, we injected a dominant-negative Bub1 mutant (Bub1dn) into mouse oocytes undergoing meiosis in vitro. Passage through meiosis I was accelerated, but even though the SAC was disrupted, injected oocytes still arrested at metaphase II. Bub1dn-injected oocytes released from CSF and treated with nocodazole to disrupt the second meiotic spindle proceeded into interphase, whereas noninjected control oocytes remained arrested at metaphase. Similar results were obtained using dominant-negative forms of Mad2 and BubR1, as well as checkpoint resistant dominant APC/C activating forms of Cdc20. Thus, SAC proteins are required for checkpoint functions in meiosis I and II, but, in contrast to frog eggs, the SAC is not required for establishing or maintaining the CSF arrest in mouse oocytes.     

TUNEL vision spots apoptotic cells

RanGTP is known to regulate the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC), but the underlying molecular mechanism is unclear. BuGZ stabilizes SAC protein Bub3 through direct interaction and facilitates its mitotic function. Here we show that RanGTP promotes the turnover of BuGZ and Bub3 in metaphase, which in turn facilitates metaphase-to-anaphase transition. BuGZ and Bub3 interact with either importin-β or an E3 ubiquitin ligase, Ubr5. RanGTP promotes the dissociation of importin-β from BuGZ and Bub3 in metaphase. This results in increased binding of BuGZ and Bub3 to Ubr5, leading to ubiquitination and subsequent turnover of both proteins. We propose that elevated metaphase RanGTP levels use Ubr5 to couple overall chromosome congression to SAC silencing.     

Fission Yeast Bub1 Is a Mitotic Centromere Protein Essential for the Spindle Checkpoint and the Preservation of Correct Ploidy through Mitosis

The spindle checkpoint ensures proper chromosome segregation by delaying anaphase until all chromosomes are correctly attached to the mitotic spindle. We investigated the role of the fission yeast bub1 gene in spindle checkpoint function and in unperturbed mitoses. We find that bub1 ⁺ is essential for the fission yeast spindle checkpoint response to spindle damage and to defects in centromere function. Activation of the checkpoint results in the recruitment of Bub1 to centromeres and a delay in the completion of mitosis. We show that Bub1 also has a crucial role in normal, unperturbed mitoses. Loss of bub1 function causes chromosomes to lag on the anaphase spindle and an increased frequency of chromosome loss. Such genomic instability is even more dramatic in Δbub1 diploids, leading to massive chromosome missegregation events and loss of the diploid state, demonstrating that bub1 ⁺ function is essential to maintain correct ploidy through mitosis. As in larger eukaryotes, Bub1 is recruited to kinetochores during the early stages of mitosis. However, unlike its vertebrate counterpart, a pool of Bub1 remains centromere-associated at metaphase and even until telophase. We discuss the possibility of a role for the Bub1 kinase after the metaphase–anaphase transition.