Articles

The structure and regulation of Cullin 2 based E3 ubiquitin ligases and their biological functions

Cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin ligase complexes play a central role in targeting cellular proteins for ubiquitination-dependent protein turnover through 26S proteasome. Cullin-2 is a member of the Cullin family, and...

Authors: Weijia Cai and Haifeng Yang

The T-box transcription factor TBX3 drives proliferation by direct repression of the p21^WAF1 cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor

TBX3, a member of the T-box family of transcription factors, is essential in development and has emerged as an important player in the oncogenic process. TBX3 is overexpressed in several cancers and has been s...

Authors: Tarryn Willmer, Shannagh Hare, Jade Peres and Sharon Prince

Cul3-KLHL20 ubiquitin ligase: physiological functions, stress responses, and disease implications

Cullin-RING ubiquitin ligases are the largest Ubiquitin ligase family in eukaryotes and are multi-protein complexes. In these complexes, the Cullin protein serves as a scaffold to connect two functional module...

Authors: Hsin-Yi Chen, Chin-Chih Liu and Ruey-Hwa Chen

New insights into posttranslational modifications of Hippo pathway in carcinogenesis and therapeutics

PTMs (posttranslational modifications) such as ubiquitylation, sumoylation, acetylation and protein methylation are pivotal modifiers that determine the activation, deactivation or subcellular localization of ...

Authors: Mingjing He, Zhuan Zhou, Anil A. Shah, Yang Hong, Qianming Chen and Yong Wan

Mitochondria-cytoskeleton associations in mammalian cytokinesis

The role of the cytoskeleton in regulating mitochondrial distribution in dividing mammalian cells is poorly understood. We previously demonstrated that mitochondria are transported to the cleavage furrow durin...

Authors: E. J. Lawrence, E. Boucher and C. A. Mandato

C1D family proteins in coordinating RNA processing, chromosome condensation and DNA damage response

Research on the involvement of C1D and its yeast homologues Rrp47 (S. cerevisiae) and Cti1 (S. pombe) in DNA damage repair and RNA processing has remained mutually exclusive, with most studies predominantly conce...

Authors: Rebecca A. Jackson, Jocelyn Shumei Wu and Ee Sin Chen

The role of cullin 5-containing ubiquitin ligases

The suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) box consists of the BC box and the cullin 5 (Cul5) box, which interact with Elongin BC and Cul5, respectively. SOCS box-containing proteins have ubiquitin ligase act...

Authors: Fumihiko Okumura, Akiko Joo-Okumura, Kunio Nakatsukasa and Takumi Kamura

Curcumin and tumor immune-editing: resurrecting the immune system

Curcumin has long been known to posses medicinal properties and recent scientific studies have shown its efficacy in treating cancer. Curcumin is now considered to be a promising anti-cancer agent and studies ...

Authors: Sayantan Bose, Abir Kumar Panda, Shravanti Mukherjee and Gaurisankar Sa

COP9-Signalosome deneddylase activity is enhanced by simultaneous neddylation: insights into the regulation of an enzymatic protein complex

Cullin-RING ubiquitin ligases (CRLs) are regulated by neddylation, which is a post translation modification of the Cullin family proteins. Neddylation of Cul1 activates the ligase through some means of biochem...

Authors: Gil Bornstein and Chagai Grossman

Sumo and the cellular stress response

The ubiquitin family member Sumo has important functions in many cellular processes including DNA repair, transcription and cell division. Numerous studies have shown that Sumo is essential for maintaining cel...

Authors: Jorrit M. Enserink

Aneuploidy and chromosomal instability in cancer: a jackpot to chaos

Genomic instability (GIN) is a hallmark of cancer cells that facilitates the acquisition of mutations conferring aggressive or drug-resistant phenotypes during cancer evolution. Chromosomal instability (CIN) i...

Authors: Maybelline Giam and Giulia Rancati

Mutations in the PCNA-binding site of CDKN1C inhibit cell proliferation by impairing the entry into S phase

CDKN1C (also known as P57 ^kip2 ) is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor that functions as a negative regulator of cell proliferation through G1 ...

Authors: Kleiton S Borges, Valerie A Arboleda and Eric Vilain

Cyclin E2 is the predominant E-cyclin associated with NPAT in breast cancer cells

The cyclin E oncogene activates CDK2 to drive cells from G₁ to S phase of the cell cycle to commence DNA replication. It coordinates essential cellular functions with the cell cycle including histone biogenesis, ...

Authors: Samuel Rogers, Brian S Gloss, Christine S Lee, Claudio Marcelo Sergio, Marcel E Dinger, Elizabeth A Musgrove, Andrew Burgess and Catherine Elizabeth Caldon

Differential distribution of HP1 proteins after trichostatin a treatment influences chromosomal stability in HCT116 and WI-38 cells

Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) is important in the establishment, propagation, and maintenance of constitutive heterochromatin, especially at the pericentromeric region. HP1 might participate in recruiting an...

Authors: Rodrigo González-Barrios, Ernesto Soto-Reyes, Ricardo Quiroz-Baez, Eunice Fabián-Morales, José Díaz-Chávez, Victor del Castillo, Julia Mendoza, Alejandro López-Saavedra, Clementina Castro and Luis A Herrera

Polar electrostatic forces drive poleward chromosome motions

Recent experiments revealing nanoscale electrostatic force generation at kinetochores for chromosome motions have prompted models for interactions between positively charged molecules in kinetochores and negat...

Authors: Lucian John Gagliardi and Daniel H Shain

The subunits of the S-phase checkpoint complex Mrc1/Tof1/Csm3: dynamics and interdependence

The S-phase checkpoint aims to prevent cells from generation of extensive single-stranded DNA that predisposes to genome instability. The S. cerevisiae complex Tof1/Csm3/Mrc1 acts to restrain the replicative MCM ...

Authors: Sonya Dimitrova Uzunova, Alexander Stefanov Zarkov, Anna Marianova Ivanova, Stoyno Stefanov Stoynov and Marina Nedelcheva Nedelcheva-Veleva

Differential expression of centrosome regulators in Her2+ breast cancer cells versus non-tumorigenic MCF10A cells

Centrosome amplification (CA) amongst particular breast cancer subtypes (Her2+ subtype) is associated with genomic instability and aggressive tumor phenotypes. However, changes in signaling pathways associated...

Authors: Mi-Young Lee, Mihaela Marina, Jamie L King and Harold I Saavedra

Smurf2 E3 ubiquitin ligase modulates proliferation and invasiveness of breast cancer cells in a CNKSR2 dependent manner

Smurf2 is a member of the HECT family of E3 ubiquitin ligases that play important roles in determining the competence of cells to respond to TGF- β/BMP signaling pathway. However, besides TGF-β/BMP pathway, Sm...

Authors: Diana David, Sankar Jagadeeshan, Ramkumar Hariharan, Asha Sivakumari Nair and Radhakrishna Madhavan Pillai

The DNA repair component Metnase regulates Chk1 stability

Chk1 both arrests replication forks and enhances repair of DNA damage by phosphorylation of downstream effectors. Metnase (also termed SETMAR) is a SET histone methylase and transposase nuclease protein that p...

Authors: Elizabeth A Williamson, Yuehan Wu, Sudha Singh, Michael Byrne, Justin Wray, Suk-Hee Lee, Jac A Nickoloff and Robert Hromas

The COP9 signalosome subunit 6 (CSN6): a potential oncogene

CSN6 is one subunit of the constitutive photomorphogenesis 9 (COP9) signalosome (CSN), which is an evolutionarily conserved multiprotein complex found in plants and animals and originally described as a repres...

Authors: Shang-Nuan Zhang, Dong-Sheng Pei and Jun-Nian Zheng

Defining a new vision for the retinoblastoma gene: report from the 3rd International Rb Meeting

The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor (Rb) pathway is mutated in most, if not all human tumors. In the G0/G1 phase, Rb and its family members p107 and p130 inhibit the E2F family of transcription factors. In res...

Authors: Seth M Rubin and Julien Sage

Cohesin loading factor Nipbl localizes to chromosome axes during mammalian meiotic prophase

Sister chromatid cohesion mediated by the cohesin complex is essential for accurate chromosome segregation during mitosis and meiosis. Loading of cohesin onto chromosomes is dependent on another protein comple...

Authors: Katarzyna Kuleszewicz, Xiangwei Fu and Nobuaki R Kudo

A pool of peptides extracted from wheat bud chromatin inhibits tumor cell growth by causing defective DNA synthesis

We previously reported that a pool of low molecular weight peptides can be extracted by alkali treatment of DNA preparations obtained from prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells after intensive deproteinization. Thi...

Authors: Loretta Mancinelli, Teresa Secca, Paula M De Angelis, Francesco Mancini, Matteo Marchesini, Cristiano Marinelli, Lanfranco Barberini and Francesco Grignani

Silencing CDK4 radiosensitizes breast cancer cells by promoting apoptosis

The discovery of molecular markers associated with various breast cancer subtypes has greatly improved the treatment and outcome of breast cancer patients. Unfortunately, breast cancer cells acquire resistance...

Authors: Katie R Hagen, Xiangbin Zeng, Mi-Young Lee, Shannon Tucker Kahn, Mary Kathryn Harrison Pitner, Sandra S Zaky, Yuan Liu, Ruth M O’Regan, Xingming Deng and Harold I Saavedra

Mutually dependent degradation of Ama1p and Cdc20p terminates APC/C ubiquitin ligase activity at the completion of meiotic development in yeast

The execution of meiotic nuclear divisions in S. cerevisiae is regulated by protein degradation mediated by the anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) ubiquitin ligase. The correct timing of APC/C activity ...

Authors: Grace S Tan, Rebecca Lewandowski, Michael J Mallory, Randy Strich and Katrina F Cooper

To divide or not to divide: revisiting liver regeneration

The liver has a remarkable capacity to regenerate. Even with surgical removal (partial hepatectomy) of 70% of liver mass, the remnant tissue grows to recover the original mass and functions. Liver regeneration...

Authors: Yuichiro Miyaoka and Atsushi Miyajima

Cell cycle-dependent localization of CHK2 at centrosomes during mitosis

Centrosomes function primarily as microtubule-organizing centres and play a crucial role during mitosis by organizing the bipolar spindle. In addition to this function, centrosomes act as reaction centers wher...

Authors: Guillaume Chouinard, Isabelle Clément, Julie Lafontaine, Francis Rodier and Estelle Schmitt

A 2D/3D image analysis system to track fluorescently labeled structures in rod-shaped cells: application to measure spindle pole asymmetry during mitosis

The yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is frequently used as a model for studying the cell cycle. The cells are rod-shaped and divide by medial fission. The process of cell division, or cytokinesis, is controlled by...

Authors: Daniel Schmitter, Paulina Wachowicz, Daniel Sage, Anastasia Chasapi, Ioannis Xenarios, Viesturs Simanis and Michael Unser

Proteolysis of Xenopus Cip-type CDK inhibitor, p16^Xic2, is regulated by PCNA binding and CDK2 phosphorylation

Cell division is positively regulated by cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) partnered with cyclins and negatively regulated by CDK inhibitors. In the frog, Xenopus laevis, three types of CDK inhibitors have been des...

Authors: Xi-Ning Zhu, Dong Hyun Kim, Horng-Ru Lin, Varija N Budhavarapu, Herbert B Rosenbaum, Paul R Mueller and P Renee Yew

Rad53 homologue forkhead-associated kinase A (FhkA) and Ca²⁺-binding protein 4a (CBP4a) are nucleolar proteins that differentially redistribute during mitosis in Dictyostelium

During mitosis most nucleolar proteins redistribute to other locales providing an opportunity to study the relationship between nucleolar protein localization and function. Dictyostelium is a model organism for t...

Authors: Andrew Catalano and Danton H O’Day

The novel BTB-kelch protein, KBTBD8, is located in the Golgi apparatus and translocates to the spindle apparatus during mitosis

Proteins of the BTB-kelch family are known to be involved in multiple biological processes such as migration, cytoskeleton arrangement, regulation of cell morphology, protein ubiquitination and gene expression...

Authors: Sandra Lührig, Susanne Kolb, Nadine Mellies and Jessica Nolte

Ndc80 Loop as a protein-protein interaction motif

Our understanding of the structure and function of kinetochores has advanced dramatically over the past 10 years, yet how the plus end of spindle microtubules interacts with the kinetochore and establishes amp...

Authors: Ngang Heok Tang and Takashi Toda

The role of β-adrenergic receptor signaling in the proliferation of hemangioma-derived endothelial cells

Infantile hemangioma (IH) is a benign vascular neoplasm that arises from the abnormal proliferation of endothelial cells and enhanced angiogenesis. Recently, propranolol has been found to be effective in the m...

Authors: Yi Ji, Siyuan Chen, Kai Li, Xianmin Xiao, Shan Zheng and Ting Xu

Therapeutic targeting of cancer cell cycle using proteasome inhibitors

Proteasomes are multicatalytic protease complexes in the cell, involved in the non-lysosomal recycling of intra-cellular proteins. Proteasomes play a critical role in regulation of cell division in both normal...

Authors: Namrata Rastogi and Durga Prasad Mishra

Mitofusin 1 is degraded at G₂/M phase through ubiquitylation by MARCH5

Mitochondria exhibit a dynamic morphology in cells and their biogenesis and function are integrated with the nuclear cell cycle. In mitotic cells, the filamentous network structure of mitochondria takes on a f...

Authors: Yong-Yea Park and Hyeseong Cho

Identification of new cell size control genes in S. cerevisiae

Cell size homeostasis is a conserved attribute in many eukaryotic species involving a tight regulation between the processes of growth and proliferation. In budding yeast S. cerevisiae, growth to a “critical cell...

Authors: Huzefa Dungrawala, Hui Hua, Jill Wright, Lesley Abraham, Thivakorn Kasemsri, Anthony McDowell, Jessica Stilwell and Brandt L Schneider

Replication of somatic micronuclei in bovine enucleated oocytes

Microcell-mediated chromosome transfer (MMCT) was developed to introduce a low number of chromosomes into a host cell. We have designed a novel technique combining part of MMCT with somatic cell nuclear transf...

Authors: Natalia Canel, Romina Bevacqua, María Inés Hiriart and Daniel Salamone

Emerging players in the initiation of eukaryotic DNA replication

Faithful duplication of the genome in eukaryotes requires ordered assembly of a multi-protein complex called the pre-replicative complex (pre-RC) prior to S phase; transition to the pre-initiation complex (pre...

Authors: Zhen Shen and Supriya G Prasanth

Epitope of titin A-band-specific monoclonal antibody Tit1 5 H1.1 is highly conserved in several Fn3 domains of the titin molecule. Centriole staining in human, mouse and zebrafish cells

Previously we have reported on the development of a new mouse anti-titin monoclonal antibody, named MAb Titl 5 H1.1, using the synthetic peptide N-AVNKYGIGEPLESDSVVAK-C which corresponds to an amino acid seque...

Authors: Aavo-Valdur Mikelsaar, Alar Sünter, Ruth Mikelsaar, Peeter Toomik, Anu Kõiveer, Imre Mikelsaar and Erkki Juronen

Antiproliferative and cell apoptosis-inducing activities of compounds from Buddleja davidii in Mgc-803 cells

Buddleja davidii is widely distributed in the southwestern region of China. We have undertaken a systematic analysis of B. davidii as a Chinese traditional medicine with anticancer activity by isolating natural ...

Authors: Jian Wu, Wenshi Yi, Linhong Jin, Deyu Hu and Baoan Song

Transient defects of mitotic spindle geometry and chromosome segregation errors

Assembly of a bipolar mitotic spindle is essential to ensure accurate chromosome segregation and prevent aneuploidy, and severe mitotic spindle defects are typically associated with cell death. Recent studies ...

Authors: William T Silkworth and Daniela Cimini

The ubiquitin-proteasome system in glioma cell cycle control

A major determinant of cell fate is regulation of cell cycle. Tight regulation of this process is lost during the course of development and progression of various tumors. The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) ...

Authors: Panagiotis J Vlachostergios, Ioannis A Voutsadakis and Christos N Papandreou

New insights into subcomplex assembly and modifications of centrosomal proteins

This review provides a brief overview of the recent work on centrosome proteomics, protein complex identification and functional characterization with an emphasis on the literature of the last three years. Pro...

Authors: Karin Habermann and Bodo MH Lange

Cytotoxicity, anti-angiogenic, apoptotic effects and transcript profiling of a naturally occurring naphthyl butenone, guieranone A

Malignant diseases are responsible of approximately 13% of all deaths each year in the world. Natural products represent a valuable source for the development of novel anticancer drugs. The present study was a...

Authors: Victor Kuete, Tolga Eichhorn, Benjamin Wiench, Benjamin Krusche and Thomas Efferth

Retraction Note: Role of senescence and mitotic catastrophe in cancer therapy

Authors: Richa Singh, Jasmine George and Yogeshwer Shukla

Differential requirement of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 for oligodendrocyte progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation

Cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) and their cyclin regulatory subunits control cell growth and division. Cdk2-cyclin E complexes, phosphorylating the retinoblastoma protein, drive cells through the G1/S transiti...

Authors: Céline Caillava and Anne Baron-Van Evercooren

A conserved histone deacetylase with a role in the regulation of cytokinesis in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

In Schizosaccharomyces pombe the SET domain protein, Set3p - together with its interacting partners, Snt1p, and Hif2p - form a complex that aids in preventing cell division failure upon mild cytokinetic stress. I...

Authors: Charnpal Grewal, Jack Hickmott, Stefan Rentas and Jim Karagiannis

Cyclin K goes with Cdk12 and Cdk13

The cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) regulate many cellular processes, including the cell cycle, neuronal development, transcription, and posttranscriptional processing. To perform their functions, Cdks bind to...

Authors: Jiri Kohoutek and Dalibor Blazek

Complex effects of flavopiridol on the expression of primary response genes

The Positive Transcription Elongation Factor b (P-TEFb) is a complex of Cyclin Dependent Kinase 9 (CDK9) with either cyclins T1, T2 or K. The complex phosphorylates the C-Terminal Domain of RNA polymerase II (...

Authors: Havva Keskin, Judit Garriga, Daphne Georlette and Xavier Graña

The retinoblastoma family of proteins and their regulatory functions in the mammalian cell division cycle

The retinoblastoma (RB) family of proteins are found in organisms as distantly related as humans, plants, and insects. These proteins play a key role in regulating advancement of the cell division cycle from t...

Authors: Shauna A Henley and Frederick A Dick