The spindle checkpoint delays anaphase onset until all chromosomes have attached

The spindle checkpoint delays anaphase onset until all chromosomes have attached properly to the mitotic spindle. BubR1 also impairs the conversation between Mad2 Bub3 and Cdc20 an anaphase activator. These defects are rescued by wild-type kinase-dead or a truncated BubR1 that lacks its kinase domain name indicating that the kinase activity of BubR1 is not essential for the spindle checkpoint in egg extracts. Furthermore localization and hyperphosphorylation of BubR1 at kinetochores are dependent on Bub1 and Mad1 but not Mad2. This paper demonstrates that BubR1 plays an important role in kinetochore association of other spindle checkpoint proteins and that Mad1 facilitates BubR1 hyperphosphorylation at kinetochores. Nestoron egg extracts. Results BubR1 in mouse and human contains homology with the spindle checkpoint protein Bub1 and budding yeast Mad3. A sequence in the EST database (GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession no. “type”:”entrez-nucleotide” attrs :”text”:”BE025630″ term_id :”8318932″ term_text :”BE025630″BE025630) was found to be similar to the human and mouse BubR1 and was used to isolate a full-length cDNA. This cDNA (GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession no. “type”:”entrez-nucleotide” attrs :”text”:”AY095442″ term_id :”22128592″ term_text :”AY095442″AY095442) predicts a protein of 1041 amino acids with a molecular mass of 118 kD. The protein sequence is usually 41.5 and 39.1% identical to the human and mouse BubR1 respectively. To gain insight into the role of BubR1 in the spindle checkpoint anti-BubR1 antiserum was generated against amino acids 189-359 which are unique in BubR1 but not conserved in Bub1. The antibody was used to study BubR1 in egg extracts. Mature eggs are arrested at metaphase HOXA2 II by cytostatic factor (CSF). The cytoplasmic extracts prepared from eggs termed CSF-arrested extracts also maintain the metaphase arrest. Upon the addition of calcium the metaphase extracts exit meiosis and enter interphase. The spindle checkpoint can be reproduced in the metaphase extract by the addition of sperm nuclei (9 0 0 extract) and nocodazole (Minshull et al. 1994 By immunoblot analysis the anti-BubR1 antibody acknowledged polypeptides of ~145 kD in interphase metaphase and spindle checkpoint-active extracts (Fig. 1 A lanes 4-6). Preincubation of the antibodies with recombinant BubR1 protein abolished the transmission (Fig. 1 A lanes 1-3) showing specificity of the antibodies. These 145-kD polypeptides were BubR1 rather than Bub1 because they remained in Bub1-depleted extracts (Fig. 1 B lane 2). Similarly extracts depleted with anti-BubR1 antibodies still retained 150-kD polypeptides recognized by anti-Bub1 antibodies but not by anti-BubR1 antibodies (Fig. 1 B lane 3). Furthermore anti-Bub1 immunoprecipitates were recognized Nestoron by anti-Bub1 antibody but not by anti-BubR1 and vice versa (Fig. 1 B lanes 5 and 6). These results show that this antibodies against BubR1 and Bub1 are specific to corresponding proteins. Physique 1. BubR1 is usually a phosphoprotein associated with Bub3. (A) Specificity of the anti-BubR1 antibody. Interphase (lanes 1 and 4) metaphase (lanes 2 and 5) or spindle checkpoint-active (lanes 3 and 6) extracts were immunoblotted with anti-BubR1 antibody … Immunoblot analysis of egg extracts shows that the electrophoretic mobility of BubR1 from metaphase and checkpoint-active extracts was slightly slower than that from interphase extracts (Fig. 1 C lanes 1-3). The apparent size is usually larger than the predicted molecular excess weight suggesting that this protein may become altered posttranslationally. Indeed protein phosphatase treatment reduced the size of the protein from all three types of extracts to 135 kD (Fig. 1 C lanes 4-6) indicating that the protein was phosphorylated. BubR1 is required for Mad2-Cdc20 Nestoron conversation BubR1 in human cells associates with spindle checkpoint protein Bub3 (Taylor et al. 1998 Similarly Bub3 was coimmunoprecipitated with BubR1 from egg extracts (Fig. 1 D). Coimmunoprecipitation of Bub3 and BubR1 was specific because Bub3 was not detectable when the immunoprecipitate was prepared from BubR1-depleted extracts (Fig. 1 D lane 8). The level of Bub3 associated with BubR1 was constant in interphase metaphase or spindle checkpoint-active extracts (Fig. 1 Nestoron D lanes 5-7) showing a constitutive nature of the conversation between Bub1 and Bub3..