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Polo-like kinase 1 regulates the stability of the mitotic centromere-associated kinesin in mitosis
(2014)
Proper bi-orientation of chromosomes is critical for the accurate segregation of chromosomes in mitosis. A key regulator of this process is MCAK, the mitotic centromere-associated kinesin. During mitosis the activity and localization of MCAK are regulated by mitotic key kinases including Plk1 and Aurora B. We show here that S621 in the MCAK’s C-terminal domain is the major phosphorylation site for Plk1. This phosphorylation regulates MCAK’s stability and facilitates its recognition by the ubiquitin/proteasome dependent APC/CCdc20 pathway leading to its D-box dependent degradation in mitosis. While phosphorylation of S621 does not directly affect its microtubule depolymerising activity, loss of Plk1 phosphorylation on S621 indirectly enhances its depolymerization activity in vivo by stabilizing MCAK, leading to an increased level of protein. Interfering with phosphorylation at S621 causes spindle formation defects and chromosome misalignments. Therefore, this study suggests a new mechanism by which Plk1 regulates MCAK: by regulating its degradation and hence controlling its turnover in mitosis.
The inability to faithfully segregate chromosomes in mitosis results in chromosome instability, a hallmark of solid tumors. Disruption of microtubule dynamics contributes highly to mitotic chromosome instability. The kinesin-13 family is critical in the regulation of microtubule dynamics and the best characterized member of the family, the mitotic centromere-associated kinesin (MCAK), has recently been attracting enormous attention. MCAK regulates microtubule dynamics as a potent depolymerizer of microtubules by removing tubulin subunits from the polymer end. This depolymerizing activity plays pivotal roles in spindle formation, in correcting erroneous attachments of microtubule-kinetochore and in chromosome movement. Thus, the accurate regulation of MCAK is important for ensuring the faithful segregation of chromosomes in mitosis and for safeguarding chromosome stability. In this review we summarize recent data concerning the regulation of MCAK by mitotic kinases, Aurora A/B, Polo-like kinase 1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 1. We propose a molecular model of the regulation of MCAK by these mitotic kinases and relevant phosphatases throughout mitosis. An ever-increasing quantity of data indicates that MCAK is aberrantly regulated in cancer cells. This deregulation is linked to increased malignance, invasiveness, metastasis and drug resistance, most probably due to increased chromosomal instability and remodeling of the microtubule cytoskeleton in cancer cells. Most interestingly, recent observations suggest that MCAK could be a novel molecular target for cancer therapy, as a new cancer antigen or as a mitotic regulator. This collection of new data indicates that MCAK could be a new star in the cancer research sky due to its critical roles in the control of genome stability and the cytoskeleton. Further investigations are required to dissect the fine details of the regulation of MCAK throughout mitosis and its involvements in oncogenesis.