"March 2003" Bibliography: leaves 206-233. The experimental data presented in this thesis provide evidence that PTP-Pez is an active phosphatase that interacts with and dephosphorylates the adherens junction protein ℓ-catenin. PTP-Pez also associates with proteins that form part of the tight junction complex, the scaffolding protein ZO-1 and the transmembrane protein occludin.

The mitotic spindle checkpoint plays a critical role during the cell cycle by protecting the faithful transmission of chromosomes during mitosis. If chromosomes are improperly bound to the spindle microtubules the checkpoint will prevent progress to anaphase by temporarily arresting cells in metaphase until all the chromosomes are correctly aligned. Bub1b is an essential component of the mitotic spindle checkpoint that transiently localises to kinetochores during mitosis and becomes phosphorylated, a response that is sustained during mitotic arrest. Bub1b has been implicated in other processes related to mitotic progression and is thought to regulate mitotic timing and have a role in caspase mediated cell death after prolonged mitotic arrest. The development of aneuploidy and cancer has been associated with mutations in the BUB1B gene and reduction in the level of Bub1b protein. To further our understanding of Bub1b function in the spindle checkpoint and mitosis, new protein interactions involving Bub1b were identified. This thesis describes the search for alternative proteins that interact with Bub1b, and their function in the mitotic spindle checkpoint and regulation of Bub1b activity. Using a yeast two-hybrid approach, members of the B56 family of regulatory subunits of serine-threonine protein phosphatase (PP2A) were identified as novel interacting partners of Bub1b. Substrate specificity of PP2A is determined by the regulatory subunits. There are five characterised isoforms of the B56 family, each encoded by separate genes. In addition, some isoforms have several recognised splice variants. Confirmation of interactions by alternative methods demonstrated that the isoforms B56γ and B56[epsilon] preferentially interact with phosphorylated Bub1b, whereas the interaction of the remaining B56 isoforms (α, β and [delta]) occurs at a lower affinity with no specificity for the phosphorylated form. It was further demonstrated that B56γ1 associated with phosphorylated Bub1b in vivo. Induced overexpression of splice variants of B56γ1 and B56γ2 demonstrated a significant reduction in levels of phosphorylated Bub1b during mitotic spindle checkpoint activation. In addition, an associated lower mitotic index was evident in cells with B56γ1 overexpression. Specific inhibition of PP2A activity with okadaic acid was shown to prolong Bub1b phosphorylation during normal mitosis and to restore the levels of phosphorylated Bub1b in arrested cells over expressing B56γ. These findings suggest a role for PP2A activity in regulation of Bub1b function that is mediated through substrate recognition by B56 regulatory subunits.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Medicine, 2003. / "March 2003" Bibliography: leaves 206-233.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Kent State University, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Mar. 12, 2009). Advisor: Srinivasan Vijayaraghavan. Keywords: sperm, testes, spermatogenesis, protein phosphatase, knock out, spermatid. Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-129).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Kent State University, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed May 26, 2009). Advisor: Srinivasan Vijayaraghavan. Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-136).

Thesis supervisor: Stefan Strack. Includes bibliographic references (p. 77-88).

No description available.

Reversible phosphorylation is a major mechanism for regulating the activity, localization and stability of proteins required for vital cellular processes such as glucose metabolism, gene expression, establishment of polarity, mitosis and cytokinesis. Phospho-regulation is driven by the activities of kinases and phosphatases. Together, these enzymes account for ∼3% of eukaryotic genomes and it is estimated that 30% of the eukaryotic proteome is composed of phospho-proteins. Protein kinases (PKs) have been studied extensively, however relatively little is known regarding the signaling networks of protein phosphatases (PPases). The identification of PPase functional networks has been slow due to the redundant nature of the majority of PPases, the complexity of their substrate recognition in vivo, and the lack of large-scale analyses that would facilitate network analysis. We hypothesized that large-scale analysis of genetic interactions using the Synthetic Genetic Array (SGA) and proteomic analyses using 2D-PAGE Difference Gel Electrophoresis (DiGE) could reveal PPase functional networks. Here, we apply this approach to the essential and conserved PP1 PPase Glc7 as it regulates numerous cellular processes in budding yeast. For this study, we created a glc7 hypomorphic mutant (glc7-E101Q) suited for both SGA and DiGE analyses. SGA analysis of glc7-E101Q revealed a broad network of 147 synthetic sick/lethal (SSL) and 178 synthetic rescue (SR) interactions. DiGE comparison of the glc7-E101Q proteome relative to wild-type at medium-resolution (∼1000 proteins) revealed alterations in 39 proteins that changed as a consequence of both the mutation and growth conditions. One of the proteins identified in this analysis was Eno1, a non-essential enolase that is mis-regulated in the presence of glucose and identified a SR mutation in the glc7-E101Q SGA. Subsequent phenotypic analysis suggests a novel, non-metabolic role for Eno1 in the Glc7 interaction network. Our results reveal that parallel analysis, using SGA and DIGE, can reveal novel functions and networks that a single analysis may not detect.

Thesis (M.S.)--Youngstown State University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-66). Also available via the World Wide Web in PDF format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Virginia, 2007. / Title from title page. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online through Digital Dissertations.