Meluh Pamela B, Strunnikov Alexander V
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Laboratory of Mechanism and Regulation of Mitosis, New York, NY 10021, USA.
Eur J Biochem. 2002 May;269(9):2300-14. doi: 10.1046/j.1432-1033.2002.02886.x.
The centromere-kinetochore complex is a highly specialized chromatin domain that both mediates and monitors chromosome-spindle interactions responsible for accurate partitioning of sister chromatids to daughter cells. Centromeres are distinguished from adjacent chromatin by specific patterns of histone modification and the presence of a centromere-specific histone H3 variant (e.g. CENP-A). Centromere-proximal regions usually correspond to sites of avid and persistent sister chromatid cohesion mediated by the conserved cohesin complex. In budding yeast, there is a substantial body of evidence indicating centromeres direct formation and/or stabilization of centromere-proximal cohesion. In other organisms, the dependency of cohesion on centromere function is not as clear. Indeed, it appears that pericentromeric heterochromatin recruits cohesion proteins independent of centromere function. Nonetheless, aspects of centromere function are impaired in the absence of sister chromatid cohesion, suggesting the two are interdependent. Here we review the nature of centromeric chromatin, the dynamics and regulation of sister chromatid cohesion, and the relationship between the two.
着丝粒-动粒复合体是一个高度特化的染色质结构域，它既能介导又能监测染色体与纺锤体之间的相互作用，这种相互作用负责将姐妹染色单体准确分配到子细胞中。着丝粒通过特定的组蛋白修饰模式和着丝粒特异性组蛋白H3变体（如CENP-A）的存在与相邻染色质区分开来。着丝粒近端区域通常对应于由保守的黏连蛋白复合体介导的紧密且持久的姐妹染色单体黏连位点。在芽殖酵母中，有大量证据表明着丝粒指导着丝粒近端黏连的形成和/或稳定。在其他生物体中，黏连对着丝粒功能的依赖性并不那么明确。实际上，似乎着丝粒周围的异染色质招募黏连蛋白并不依赖于着丝粒功能。尽管如此，在没有姐妹染色单体黏连的情况下，着丝粒功能的某些方面会受损，这表明两者相互依赖。在这里，我们综述着丝粒染色质的性质、姐妹染色单体黏连的动态变化和调控，以及两者之间的关系。
