Biology subjects

Stewart, M. G.

Publications and source records attributed to Stewart, M. G..

6 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

A coordinated kinase and phosphatase network regulates Stu2 recruitment to yeast kinetochores

Cells coordinate diverse events at anaphase onset, including separase activation, cohesin cleavage, chromosome separation, and spindle reorganization. Regulation of the XMAP215 family member and microtubule polymerase, Stu2, at the metaphase-anaphase transition determines a specific redistribution from kinetochores to spindle microtubules. We show that cells modulate Stu2 kinetochore-microtubule localization by Polo-like kinase1/Cdc5-mediated phosphorylation of T866, near the Stu2 C-terminus, thereby promoting dissociation from the kinetochore Ndc80 complex. Cdk/Cdc28 likely primes Cdc5:Stu2 interaction. Cdc28 activity is also required for Stu2 nuclear import. PP2ACdc55 actively opposes Cdc5 activity on Stu2T866 during metaphase. This counter-regulation allows for switchlike redistribution of Stu2pT866 at anaphase onset when separase inhibits PP2ACdc55. Blocking Stu2T866 phosphorylation disrupts anaphase spindle progression, and we infer that PP2ACdc55 regulates the mitotic spindle by dephosphorylating Stu2 and other MAPs. These data support a model in which increased phosphorylation at anaphase onset results from phosphatase inhibition and point to a larger regulatory network that facilitates rapid cytoskeletal modulation required for anaphase spindle maintenance. SUMMARYStu2 displays dynamic localization patterns in the cell cycle, with different kinetochore and microtubule distribution during distinct phases. Phosphorylation near Stu2s C-terminus reduces its attachment to kinetochores to promote its microtubule activity in anaphase. Cdc5 and PP2ACdc55 play counteracting roles in this pathway to promote proper timing of Stu2 phosphorylation.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2023

ASPSCR1-TFE3 reprograms transcription by organizing enhancer loops around hexameric VCP/p97

The t(X,17) chromosomal translocation, generating the ASPSCR1-TFE3 fusion oncoprotein, is the singular genetic driver of alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) and some Xp11-rearranged renal cell carcinomas (RCC), frustrating efforts to identify therapeutic targets for these rare cancers. Proteomic analysis showed that VCP/p97, an AAA+ ATPase with known segregase function, was strongly enriched in co-immunoprecipitated nuclear complexes with ASPSCR1-TFE3. We demonstrate that VCP is a likely obligate co-factor of ASPSCR1-TFE3, one of the only such fusion oncoprotein co-factors identified in cancer biology. Specifically, VCP co-distributed with ASPSCR1-TFE3 across chromatin in association with enhancers genome-wide. VCP presence, its hexameric assembly, and its enzymatic function orchestrated the oncogenic transcriptional signature of ASPSCR1-TFE3, by facilitating assembly of higher-order chromatin conformation structures as demonstrated by HiChIP. Finally, ASPSCR1-TFE3 and VCP demonstrated co-dependence for cancer cell proliferation and tumorigenesis in vitro and in ASPS and RCC mouse models, underscoring VCPs potential as a novel therapeutic target.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Structural Basis of Stu2 Recruitment to Yeast Kinetochores

Accurate chromosome segregation during cell division requires engagement of the kinetochores of sister chromatids with microtubules emanating from opposite poles of the mitotic spindle. In yeast, these "bioriented" metaphase sister chromatids experience tension as the corresponding microtubules (one per sister chromatid) shorten. Spindle-assembly checkpoint signaling appears to cease from a kinetochore under tension, which also stabilizes kinetochore-microtubule attachment in single-kinetochore experiments in vitro. The microtubule polymerase, Stu2, the yeast member of the XMAP215/ch-TOG protein family, associates with kinetochores in cells and contributes to tension-dependent stabilization, both in vitro and in vivo. We show here that a C-terminal segment of Stu2 binds the four-way junction of the Ndc80 complex (Ndc80c) and that amino-acid residues conserved both in yeast Stu2 orthologs and in their metazoan counterparts make specific contacts with Ndc80 and Spc24. Mutations that perturb this interaction prevent association of Stu2 with kinetochores, impair cell viability, produce biorientation defects, and delay cell-cycle progression. Ectopic tethering of the mutant Stu2 species to the Ndc80c junction restores wild-type function. These findings show that the role of Stu2 in tension sensing depends on its association with kinetochores by binding with Ndc80c.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2019

Nanocatalytic activity of clean-surfaced, faceted nanocrystalline gold enhances remyelination in animal models of multiple sclerosis

Development of pharmacotherapies that promote remyelination are a high priority for multiple sclerosis (MS) due to their potential for neuroprotection and restoration of function through repair of demyelinated lesions. A novel preparation of clean-surfaced, faceted gold nanocrystals demonstrated robust remyelinating activity in response to demyelinating agents in both chronic cuprizone and acute lysolecithin rodent animal models. Furthermore, oral delivery of gold nanocrystals improved motor functions of cuprizone-treated mice in both open field and kinematic gait studies. Gold nanocrystal treatment of oligodendrocyte precursor cells in culture resulted in oligodendrocyte maturation and expression of key myelin differentiation markers. Additional in vitro data demonstrated that these gold nanocrystals act via a novel energy metabolism pathway involving the enhancement of key indicators of aerobic glycolysis. In response to gold nanocrystals, co-cultured central nervous system cells exhibited elevated levels of the redox coenzyme nicotine adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), elevated total ATP levels, elevated extracellular lactate levels, and upregulation of myelin-synthesis related genes, collectively resulting in functional myelin generation. Based on these preclinical studies, clean-surfaced, faceted gold nanocrystals represent a novel remyelinating therapeutic for multiple sclerosis.\n\nOne Sentence SummaryNanocatalytic activity of clean-surfaced, faceted gold nanocrystals results in robust remyelinating activity in demyelination animal models of multiple sclerosis.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

Astroglia withdraw from potentiated synapses boosting inter-synaptic cross-talk

Extrasynaptic actions of glutamate are limited by high-affinity transporters on perisynaptic astroglial processes (PAPs), which helps to maintain point-to-point transmission in excitatory circuits. Memory formation in the brain is associated with synaptic remodelling, but how this remodelling affects PAPs and therefore extrasynaptic glutamate actions is poorly understood. Here we used advanced imaging methods, in situ and in vivo, to find that a classical synaptic memory mechanism, long-term potentiation (LTP), triggers withdrawal of PAPs from potentiated synapses. Optical glutamate sensors combined with patch-clamp and 3D molecular localisation reveal that LTP induction thus prompts a spatial retreat of glial glutamate transporters, boosting glutamate spillover and NMDA receptor-mediated inter-synaptic cross-talk. The LTP-triggered PAP withdrawal involves NKCC1 transporters and the actin-controlling protein cofilin but does not depend on major Ca2+-dependent cascades in astrocytes. We have therefore uncovered a mechanism by which synaptic potentiation could alter signal handling by multiple nearby connections.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

Biophysical underpinning of astroglial physiology probed with realistic cell models

Electrically non-excitable astroglia take up neurotransmitters, buffer extracellular K+ and generate Ca2+ signals that release molecular regulators of neural circuitry. The underlying machinery remains enigmatic, mainly because the nanoscopic, sponge-like astrocyte morphology has been difficult to access experimentally or explore theoretically. Here, we have systematically evaluated the multi-scale morphology of protoplasmic astroglia to construct a realistic multi-compartmental cell model that can be biophysically interrogated in NEURON computational environment. This approach has been implemented as an astrocyte-model builder ASTRO. As a proof of concept, we explored a hippocampal astrocyte reconstructed in silico against a battery of physiological and imaging experiments. This exploration has unveiled some basic features of astroglial physiology inaccessible empirically, such as the characteristic length of membrane voltage propagation, membrane effects of local glutamate transport, spatiotemporal dynamics of intracellular K+ redistribution, key Ca2+ buffering properties, and some basic relationships between free Ca2+ dynamics and experimental readout of fluorescent Ca2+ indicators.

neuroscience↗