Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biotechnology, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China.
FEBS J. 2012 Jul;279(14):2520-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2012.08634.x. Epub 2012 Jun 15.
Amitosis, a direct method of cell division is common in ciliated protozoan, fungi and some animal and plant cells. During amitosis, intranuclear microtubules are reorganized into specified arrays which assist in separation of nucleus, despite lack of a bipolar spindle. However, the regulation of amitosis is not understood. Here, we focused on the localization and role of mitotic spindle assembly regulator: Ran GTPase (Ran1) in macronuclear amitosis in binucleated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila. HA-tagged Ran1 was localized in the macronucleus throughout the cell cycle of Tetrahymena during vegetative growth, and the accessory factor binding domains of Ran1 contributed to its macronuclear localization. Incomplete somatic knockout of RAN1 resulted in aberrant intramacronuclear microtubule array formation, missegregation of macronuclear chromosomes and ultimately blocked macronuclei proliferation. When the Ran1 cycle was perturbed by overexpression of Ran1T25N (GDP-bound Ran1-mimetic) or Ran1Q70L (GTP-bound Ran1-mimetic), intramacronuclear microtubule assembly was inhibited or multi-micronucleate cells formed. These results suggest that Ran GTPase pathway is involved in assembly of a specialized intramacronuclear microtubule network and coordinates amitotic progression in Tetrahymena.
无丝分裂是一种直接的细胞分裂方式,常见于纤毛原生动物、真菌以及一些动植物细胞中。在无丝分裂过程中,核内微管被重新组织成特定的排列方式,协助核的分离,尽管没有双极纺锤体。然而,无丝分裂的调控机制尚不清楚。在这里,我们专注于研究有丝分裂纺锤体组装调节因子:Ran GTPase(Ran1)在双核原生动物嗜热四膜虫的大核无丝分裂中的定位和作用。在嗜热四膜虫的营养生长过程中,HA 标记的 Ran1 在整个细胞周期中都定位于大核内,并且 Ran1 的辅助因子结合结构域有助于其定位于大核内。不完全体细胞敲除 RAN1 导致大核内微管阵列形成异常、大核染色体错误分离,并最终阻止大核增殖。当 Ran1 循环因 Ran1T25N(GDP 结合的 Ran1 类似物)或 Ran1Q70L(GTP 结合的 Ran1 类似物)的过表达而受到干扰时,大核内微管组装受到抑制或形成多核细胞。这些结果表明,Ran GTPase 途径参与了专门的大核内微管网络的组装,并协调了嗜热四膜虫的无丝分裂进程。