Chromosome alignment is highly conserved in all eukaryotic cell divisions. Microtubule (MT) -based forces generated by the mitotic spindle are integral for proper chromosome alignment and equal chromosome segregation. The kinetochore is a multi-subunit protein complex that assembles on centromeric regions of chromosomes. Kinetochores tether chromosomes to MTs (K fibers) that emanate from opposite poles, in a process called biorientation. This linkage translates K fiber dynamics into chromosome movements during alignment and segregation. Stable, high-affinity kinetochore attachments promote spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) silencing, which is active when unattached kinetochores are present. During chromosome alignment, 1) K fiber plus-end dynamics decrease, confining chromosome movements near the spindle equator, and 2) electrostatic interactions between kinetochore proteins and MTs increase. Chromosome segregation occurs as soon as all chromosomes are stably attached to microtubules and the SAC has been silenced. SAC silencing and chromosome alignment are temporally coordinated during normal divisions, implying that the mechanisms regulating K fiber dynamics and kinetochore affinity must be linked. Interestingly, HeLa cells depleted of a kinesin-8 motor Kif18A, known for its role in promoting chromosome alignment, display a SAC-dependent mitotic delay due to kinetochore-MT attachment defects. This is puzzling, as Kif18A's function in chromosome alignment is to suppress MT growth by stably associating with MT plus-ends. Whether Kif18A is required for attachment in all cells and how it promotes kinetochore microtubule linkages are not understood. The work presented in this dissertation supports a model in which Kif18A functions as a molecular link that coordinates chromosome alignment and anaphase onset. We find that Kif18A is required to stabilize kinetochore-MT attachments during mammalian germline development, as germline precursor cells in Kif18A mutant mice are unable to divide during embryogenesis due to an active SAC. However, while all cell types require functional Kif18A for chromosome alignment, mouse primary somatic cells can still divide with normal timing. This finding indicates a cell-type specific dependence on Kif18A for stabilizing kinetochore-MT attachments, and provides evidence that this function might be separate from Kif18A's known role in chromosome alignment. Consistent with this idea, we find that an evolutionarily conserved binding motif for protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) is required for Kif18A's novel role in regulating kinetochore microtubule attachments. Kif18A-PP1 interaction is required for Kif18A-mediated dephosphorylation of the kinetochore protein Hec1, which enhances attachment. However, Kif18A's interaction with PP1 is dispensable for chromosome alignment. Thus, point mutations that disrupt PP1 binding separate Kif18A's role in stabilizing kinetochore attachments from its function in promoting chromosome alignment. Additionally, through structure function studies of the motor domain, we identified a long surface loop (Loop2) that is required for Kif18A's unique MT plus-end binding activity, which is essential for its function in confining chromosome movements. Taken together, we find that Kif18A is molecularly tuned to provide temporal control of chromosome alignment and anaphase entry.

La mitose est précisément contrôlée par la signalisation via l'ubiquitine et est essentielle au maintien de l'intégrité du génome. Dans ce travail, j'ai étudié la fonction de l'enzyme de dé-ubiquitination, UCHL3 et de la ligase E3-ubiquitine, TRIM15. J'ai observé que TRIM15 régule l'adhésion et la mobilité des cellules. UCHL3 a été identifié par un criblage à haut contenu, en tant que facteur critique contrôlant l'alignement et la ségrégation des chromosomes. Fait intéressant, il a déjà été rapporté que les niveaux d’expression d’UCHL3 sont altérés dans divers types de cancer. En utilisant une approche protéomique, nous avons identifié la kinase Aurora B comme un médiateur potentiel de ces phénotypes. Comme l'aneuploïdie est la marque de nombreux cancers et que l'adhésion cellulaire joue un rôle important dans l'invasion des tumeurs et les métastases, mes résultats suggèrent que ces deux protéines pourraient jouer un rôle dans la carcinogenèse. / Mitosis is tightly controlled by ubiquitin signaling and is crucial to maintain genome integrity. In this work, I investigated the function of the deubiquitinating enzyme UCHL3 and the E3 ubiquitin ligase TRIM15. I observed that TRIM15 regulates cell adhesion and motility. UCHL3 was identified in a high-content screen, as a critical factor controlling the chromosome alignment and segregation. Interestingly, it has been previously reported that UCHL3 levels are altered in various cancer types. Using a proteomic approach, we identified Aurora B kinase as a potential mediator of these phenotypes. Since aneuploidy is a hallmark of many cancers, and cell adhesion plays an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis, my results suggest that both proteins could play a role in carcinogenesis.

(ENGLISH) Ubiquitin signaling is a key regulatory mechanism for many important cellular processes such as transcription, differentiation and cell division. Cell division requires duplication of all genetic material during S-phase followed by its precise partitioning between two daughter cells during mitosis. Misregulation of the complex mitotic machinery may lead to aneuploidy and genomic instability, known drivers of tumorigenesis. Indeed, systematic genetic analysis of many cancer tissues over the last decades, indicates the presence of severe chromosome abnormalities in thousands of cancer tissue samples. In this work, I investigated the function of two components of ubiquitin signaling, the deubiquitinating enzyme UCHL3 and the E3 ubiquitin ligase TRIM15. The hypothesized role of E3 ligase TRIM15 in the cell cycle regulation could not be confirmed by our experiments, but I observed an effect on cell adhesion and motility instead. UCHL3 was identified using high-content visual siRNA screen, as a critical factor controlling genome segregation and integrity. Interestingly, it has been previously reported that UCHL3 levels are altered in various cancer types, especially colon cancer. My data demonstrate that UCHL3 drives proper alignment of chromosomes at the metaphase plate by facilitating...