Garcia, Y. A. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2020

DUSP7 Regulates the Activity of ERK2 to PromoteProper Chromosome Alignment During Cell Division

Human cell division is a highly regulated process that relies on the accurate capture and movement of chromosomes to the metaphase plate. Errors in the fidelity of chromosome congression and alignment can lead to improper chromosome segregation, which is correlated with aneuploidy and tumorigenesis. Here we show that the dual specificity phosphatase DUSP7 is important for regulating chromosome alignment. DUSP7 bound to ERK2 and regulated the abundance of active phospho-ERK2 through its phosphatase activity. Overexpression of DUSP7, but not catalytic dead mutants, led to a marked decrease in phopho-ERK2 and mitotic chromosome misalignment, while knockdown of DUSP7 also led to defective chromosome congression that resulted in a prolonged mitosis. Consistently, chemical inhibition of the MEK kinase that phosphorylates ERK2 or ERK2 itself led to chromosome alignment defects. Our results support a model where MEK phosphorylation and DUSP7 dephosphorylation regulate the levels of active phospho-ERK2 to promote proper cell division.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Dissection of the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint by Proximity Proteomics

The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) is critical for sensing defective microtubule-kinetochore attachments and tension across the kinetochore and functions to arrest cells in prometaphase to allow time to repair any errors prior to proceeding into anaphase. The SAC has a central role in ensuring the fidelity of chromosome segregation and its dysregulation has been linked to the development of human diseases like cancer. The establishment and maintenance of the SAC relies on multiple protein complexes that are intricately regulated in a spatial and temporal manner through posttranslational modifications like phosphorylation. Over the past few decades the SAC has been highly investigated and much has been learned about its protein constituents and the pathways and factors that regulate its activity. However, the spatio-temporal proximity associations of the core SAC components have not been explored in a systematic manner. Here, we have taken a BioID2 proximity-labeling proteomic approach to define the proximity protein environment for each of the five core SAC proteins BUB1, BUB3, BUBR1, MAD1L1, and MAD2L1 under conditions where the SAC is active in prometaphase. These five protein association maps were integrated to generate the SAC proximity protein network that contains multiple layers of information related to core SAC protein complexes, protein-protein interactions, and proximity associations. Our analysis validated many of the known SAC complexes and protein-protein interactions. Additionally, it uncovered new protein associations that lend insight into the functioning of the SAC and highlighted future areas that should be investigated to generate a comprehensive understanding of the SAC.

biochemistry↗