Local phosphatase activity may also contribute to defining a phosphorylation gradient, both by inactiving Aurora B and by directly dephosphorylating substrates
Local phosphatase activity may also contribute to defining a phosphorylation gradient, both by inactiving Aurora B and by directly dephosphorylating substrates. An important question for any model of Aurora B function at kinetochores is how the kinase localization is specified. kinetochore assembles at the centromere of each chromosome to mediate interactions with spindle microtubules. Kinetochores can in the beginning bind to microtubules in any configuration, but accurate chromosome segregation requires that each pair of sister kinetochores ultimately attach to microtubules from reverse spindle poles (bi-orientation). Although there is a bias towards bi-orientation due to geometric constraints imposed by chromosome structure Noopept [1,2], frequent errors in kinetochore-microtubule attachments do occur [3,4] and would lead to unequal segregation if left uncorrected. Therefore, kinetochore-microtubule attachments must be cautiously regulated: incorrect attachments are destabilized, while correct attachments are stabilized. In this way, all kinetochores eventually reach the correct attachment state in a trial-and-error process, with destabilization providing a fresh opportunity to bi-orient (examined in [5]). Defining the mechanism that selectively stabilizes only correct attachments is critical to understanding proper chromosome segregation. Here, we review recent work to understand the molecular mechanisms by which erroneous attachments are detected and corrected, focusing on the role of Aurora B kinase in this process. We discuss the processes that take action upstream VPS15 to control the activity of Aurora B and its phosphorylation of kinetochore substrates, and the downstream effects of Aurora B phosphorylation for kinetochore activity and function. == Regulating attachments: reconciling mechanical and molecular mechanisms == Classic experiments by Bruce Nicklas using micromanipulation in insect spermatocyes provided direct experimental evidence that attachments are stabilized through tension across the centromere. In cells, this tension is established as spindle microtubules pull bi-oriented kinetochores in reverse directions. Experimentally induced tension, applied with a glass microneedle, stabilizes unipolar attachments that are normally unstable [6,7]. These experiments laid the foundation for any model to explain the general theory of how bi-orientation can be achieved before any molecular details of this regulation had been defined. One of the first pieces Noopept to the molecular puzzle of tension-dependent regulation was the identification of the Ipl1 kinase in budding yeast in a screen for mutants that display an increase-in-ploidy (ipl) phenotype [8]. Ipl1 was subsequently shown to be required for accurate chromosome segregation and to phosphorylate kinetochore substrates regulating Noopept microtubule binding [911]. Furthermore, Ipl1 promotes the turnover of attachments in the absence of tension [12], suggesting that it might function in the pathway explained by Nicklas. Parallel work inDrosophila, C. elegans, and vertebrates recognized Aurora kinases, the Ipl1 homologues, as important regulators of cell division (examined in [13]). The functional homolog of Ipl1 is usually Aurora B, which localizes to the inner centromere as the enzymatic component of the chromosome passenger complex (CPC), which also includes the inner centromere protein (INCENP), Survivin, and Borealin (also known as Dasra or CSC-1) (examined in [14]). The CPC remains at the inner centromere until anaphase onset and then redistributes to the midzone of the anaphase spindle and the equatorial cell cortex. Although we will focus here around the role of Aurora B and the CPC in kinetochore function, the CPC also regulates cytokinesis. In vertebrates, Aurora B inhibition using small molecules or inhibitory antibodies prospects to stabilization of incorrect attachments, for example with both sister kinetochores attached to a single spindle pole [1517]. Activation of Aurora B by removing an inhibitor prospects to correction of these attachment errors by selectively destabilizing incorrect attachments [18]. Together, these studies demonstrate that Ipl1/Aurora B phosphorylates kinetochore substrates in the absence of tension to destabilize incorrect attachments and allow re-orientation. Aurora B belongs to a family of serine/threonine protein kinases that includes Aurora A, but also has strong structural similarity to Protein Kinase A (PKA; cAMP-dependent protein kinase). Thus, while the cellular localizations and functions of Aurora A, Aurora B, and PKA are unique, their substrate preference is extremely Noopept comparable. The preferred phosphorylation consensus sequence for each of these kinases is usually [RK][TS][ILV] [10,19]. This consensus site provides a good approximation for those sequences targeted by Aurora B, although some established substrates lack the downstream hydrophobic residue. In addition, extra upstream positively charged residues appear to increase the probability of phosphorylation. Aurora B substrates often contain multiple, closely clustered phosphorylation sites. These multiple sites may allow a switch-like behavior for the regulation of a given substrate, as explained for.
