Abstract
BubR1 is a key component of the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC). Mutations that reduce BubR1 abundance cause aneuploidization and tumorigenesis in humans and mice, whereas BubR1 overexpression protects against these. However, how supranormal BubR1 expression exerts these beneficial physiological impacts is poorly understood. Here, we used Bub1b mutant transgenic mice to explore the role of the amino-terminal (BubR1N) and internal (BubR1I) Cdc20-binding domains of BubR1 in preventing aneuploidy and safeguarding against cancer. BubR1N was necessary, but not sufficient to protect against aneuploidy and cancer. In contrast, BubR1 lacking the internal Cdc20-binding domain provided protection against both, which coincided with improved microtubule-kinetochore attachment error correction and SAC activity. Maximal SAC reinforcement occurred when both the Phe- and D-box of BubR1I were disrupted. Thus, while under- or overexpression of most mitotic regulators impairs chromosome segregation fidelity, certain manipulations of BubR1 can positively impact this process and therefore be therapeutically exploited.
DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16620.001
Human DNA is organized into 46 chromosomes, which must be duplicated before a cell divides and are then shared equally between the two new cells. When this process goes awry, the new cells either have too many or too few chromosomes. This situation – known as aneuploidy – frequently occurs in cancer cells, and is thought to cause cells to gain extra copies or lose copies of genes that promote or prevent cancer, respectively.
Cells have several ways to prevent aneuploidy. One of these safeguards, known as the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC), involves a protein called BubR1, which acts at the stage when the duplicated chromosomes need to be equally divided into each daughter cell. Mouse models show that low levels of the BubR1 protein result in aneuploidy and increased predisposition to cancer. High levels of BubR1, on the other hand, allow the mice to stay healthier for longer and can stop tumors from forming. However, it was not known exactly how high amounts of BubR1 protect against cancer.
To address this question, Weaver et al. set out to determine which parts, or domains, of the BubR1 protein protect against cancer. Mice with high levels of the full-length BubR1 protein were compared with mice that made mutant versions of BubR1 lacking certain domains. These experiments revealed that a small portion of the beginning of the protein was necessary to protect against tumor formation, but removing a large region in the middle of BubR1 still protected mice against lung cancer and aneuploidy. Additional experiments performed on mouse cells grown in the laboratory revealed that whole BubR1 protein and the mutant protein lacking the middle region might prevent aneuploidy in multiple ways. For example, both systems had stronger SAC signaling, which could serve to make segregating the chromosomes more accurate.
In the future, it will be important to find out whether BubR1 acts in the same way in human cells and cancers. Lastly, since it is not possible to over-produce BubR1 in humans, other methods will need to be investigated to use this knowledge to treat cancer.
DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16620.002
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