Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-96).

Aurora-A kinase is overexpressed in many human cancers and leads to centrosome amplification resulting in multipolar spindles, chromosome segregation defects and aneuploidy. Aurora-A belongs to a family of serine/threonine mitotic kinases involved in centrosome separation, duplication and maturation as well as in bipolar spindle assembly. In this work, we demonstrate that Aurora-A is both amplified and overexpressed in human pancreatic cancer cell lines, with a 2-5 fold increase in gene copy number and a 3-4 fold increase in protein levels compared to controls. Aurora-A is also amplified and overexpressed in pancreatic cancers taken directly from patients. An immunohistochemistry of tissues taken directly from patients demonstrated an overexpression of Aurora-A in 26 of 28 pancreatic cancers compared to 0 of 18 normal pancreas samples. Antisense nucleotides specifically targeted at Aurora-A arrest the cell cycle in pancreatic cancer cells, indicating the potential of Aurora-A as a therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer. To understand the role of Aurora-A at the centrosome, we investigated the mechanism of how Aurora-A is targeted to the centrosome. We used deletion fragment analysis of Aurora-A to identify a specific region that is required to localize to the centrosome. We also show that subcellular localization of Aurora-A is independent of its intrinisic kinase activity and its phosphorylation states. These results show that Aurora-A is targeted to the centrosome by a mechanism that does not require its kinase activity and phosphorylation of T288 and T287. Furthermore, the region containing the catalytic domain, 131-333, is sufficient to localize Aurora-A to the centrosome.

No description available.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2005. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2004. / Vita. Bibliography: 77-82.

Thesis (M.S.) -- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2005. / Not embargoed Vita. Bibliography: 24-25.

Les microtubules sont des composants hautement dynamiques du cytosquelette. La tubuline gamma est localisée au centrosome. Elle y forme le complexe de nucléation des microtubules, le gamma-TuRC, en association avec les protéines GCPs 2-6. Les GCPs 2-6 forment une famille de protéines caractérisée par deux domaines conservés appelés GRIP1 et 2. De par sa structure, le gamma-TuRC sert de moule pour la nucléation des microtubules. Le gamma-TuRC est constitué de plusieurs sous-complexes : les gamma-TuSCs qui sont composés d'une GCP2 et d'une GCP3 qui interagissent entre elle par leur domaine amino-terminal, chacune liant une tubuline gamma via leur domaine carboxy-terminal. Les gamma-TuSCs s'assemblent latéralement pour former une structure à un tour d'hélice, les deux extrémités de l'hélice se recouvrant. La structure atomique de GCP4 s'intègre particulièrement bien dans structure du gamma-TuSC de levure, obtenue en microscopie électronique, à la place de GCP2 et 3 suggérant une forte conservation structurale entre les GCPs. GCP4, 5 et 6 pourraient donc être partie intégrante de l'hélice. Durant ma thèse j'ai étudié la position relative des GCP4, 5 et 6 au sein du gamma-TuRC. Pour cela j'ai développé des approches d'échange de domaines et de mutagénèse. J'ai également mis en place des stratégies de FLIM-FRET et d'immunoprécipitation. J'ai ainsi montré que c'est le domaine N-terminal des GCPs qui définit leur identité, les domaines C-terminaux étant échangeables. J'ai également mis en évidence, au sein du gamma-TuRC, des interactions latérales entre GCP4 et GCP5 semblables à celles établies par GCP2 et GCP3 dans les gamma-TuSC. J'ai également pu isoler un complexe contenant GCP4, 5, 6 et la tubuline gamma indépendamment du gamma-TuRC. J'apporte ainsi les premières preuves expérimentales soutenant l'idée que GCP4, 5 et 6 sont partie intégrante de l'hélice du gamma-TuRC et qu'elles y forment un sous complexe qui occupe une position bien définie. / Microtubules are highly dynamic components of the cytoskeleton. gammatubulin is found at the centrosome where it forms a microtubule nucleation complex together with GCPs 2-6, the gamma-TuRC. GCPs 2-6 form a conserved family of proteins characterised by two conserved domains called GRIP1 and 2. The gamma-TuRC functions as a structural template for microtubule nucleation. The gamma-TuRC is composed of smaller subcomplexes called gamma-TuSC. Each gamma-TuSC is composed by one GCP2, one GCP3 and two gamma?tubulins. GCP2 and GCP3 interact via their N-terminal domain and bind gamma tubulin through their C-terminal domain. Several gamma-TuSCs can assemble laterally to form a one-turn helix with the two ends overlapping. The atomic structure of GCP4 fits almost perfectly in the place of GCP2 and GCP3 within the gamma-TuSC envelope obtained by electron microscopy suggesting a strong structural conservation among GCPs. Hence, GCP4, 5 and 6 may be part of the helix. During the course of my thesis, I studied the relative position of GCPs 4, 5, 6 within the gamma-TuRC. To this aim, I developed a domain swapping and mutagenesis approaches. I also combined FLIM-FRET and immunoprecipitation strategies. I have been able to show that the N-terminal domains of GCPs define their identity while the C-terminal domains can be swapped. My results also indicate that GCP4 and GCP5 establish gamma-TuSC like interactions within the gamma-TuRC. I also isolated a complex containing GCP4, 5, 6 and gamma tubulin independently of the gamma-TuRC. My thesis provides the first experimental evidence supporting the model where GCP4, 5 and 6 are part of the gamma-TuRC helix where they form a sub-complex localised at a defined position.

The centrosome is the major microtubule organising centre in vertebrate cells. CDK5RAP2 is a human protein that localises to the centrosome. At the start of this thesis work, the function of CDK5RAP2 was uncharacterised. Significantly, cdk5rap2 is one of several centrosomal genes that are mutated in the developmental disorder Primary Microcephaly, where affected individuals have smaller brains than expected for the age- and sex-adjusted mean. Orthologues of CDK5RAP2 in the fruit fly (Centrosomin/Cnn) and in fission yeast (Mod20p) have been well characterised and are known to have important roles in maintaining centrosome structure and in regulating microtubule nucleation. CDK5RAP2 shares two evolutionarily conserved domains with Cnn, known as CNN motif 1 and 2. Using the chicken B-cell line, DT40, I have used gene-targeting methods to disrupt both of these domains in CDK5RAP2. This revealed a function for CDK5RAP2 in attaching centrosomes to mitotic spindle poles. Centrosome attachment to spindle poles is mediated by a binding partner of CDK5RAP2, AKAP450. AKAP450 also localises to centrosomes and provides anchorage sites for spindle poles in the centrosome. Disruption of the CNN1 and CNN2 domains of CDK5RAP2 causes mislocalisation of AKAP450 from the centrosome and detachment of centrosomes from spindle poles. My studies in DT40 and in human cell lines revealed that CDK5RAP2 and AKAP450 also cooperate during interphase to maintain the two centrioles in the centrosome as a pair. In addition to a structural role in the centrosome, I also find that CNN motif 1 of CDK5RAP2 plays a role in the cellular response to DNA damage. In the absence of CNN motif 1, cells no longer efficiently arrest the cell cycle in response to damage. Centrosome-mediated mitotic spindle alignment and the DNA damage response have both been implicated in microcephaly. Therefore, defects in these functions of CDK5RAP2 may explain how mutations in cdk5rap2 may lead to microcephaly.

The MAP kinase pathway is well known for its key roles in regulating cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. MAP kinases have also been implicated in mitotic functions, however these functions are less-well understood. Recent studies from our laboratory used Xenopus egg extracts to identify B-Raf as an essential activator of the MAPK cascade during mitosis. Therefore, the first objective of my dissertation research was to determine if B-Raf has functional significance during mitosis in human somatic cells. Using RNA interference against B-Raf and various immunofluorescence techniques, I show that B-Raf: (1) localizes to and is phosphorylated at a key mitotic structure, (2) is critical for proper mitotic spindle assembly and chromatin congression, (3) is important for the engagement of microtubules with kinetochores during mitosis, and (4) is necessary for activation of the spindle assembly checkpoint. It has been demonstrated that B-Raf is a prominent oncogene, constitutively activated in the vast majority of melanomas and other cancers. I hypothesized that oncogenic B-Raf expression perturbs mitosis and causes aneuploidy. First, we show that oncogenic B-Raf expression correlates with mitotic abnormalities in human melanoma cells and that spindle defects are induced when oncogenic B-Raf is ectopically expressed. Further, using FISH and karyotype analysis, I demonstrate that oncogenic B-Raf drives aneuploidy and chromosome instability in primary, immortalized, and tumor cells. In summary, my dissertation studies elucidate novel roles for B-Raf in mammalian mitosis. In addition, my studies show for the first time that oncogenic B-Raf disrupts mitosis causing chromosomal instability. I propose that oncogenic B-Raf-induced chromosome instability contributes to tumorigenesis.

No description available.