The COP9 (Constitutive photomorphogenesis 9) signalosome (CSN), a large multiprotein complex that resembles the 19S lid of the 26S proteasome, plays a central role in the regulation of the E3-cullin RING ubiquitin ligases (CRLs). The catalytic activity of the CSN complex, carried by subunit 5 (CSN5/Jab1), resides in the deneddylation of the CRLs that is the hydrolysis of the cullin-neural precursor cell expressed developmentally downregulated gene 8 (Nedd8)isopeptide bond. Whereas CSN-dependent CSN5 displays isopeptidase activity, it is intrinsically inactive in other physiologically relevant forms. Here we analyze the crystal structure of CSN5 in its catalytically inactive form to illuminate the molecular basis for its activation state. We show that CSN5 presents a catalytic domain that brings essential elements to understand its activity control. Although the CSN5 active site is catalytically competent and compatible with di-isopeptide binding, the Ins-1 segment obstructs access to its substrate-binding site, and structural rearrangements are necessary for the Nedd8-binding pocket formation. Detailed study of CSN5 by molecular dynamics unveils signs of flexibility and plasticity of the Ins-1 segment. These analyses led to the identification of a molecular trigger implicated in the active/inactive switch that is sufficient to impose on CSN5 an active isopeptidase state. We show that a single mutation in the Ins-1 segment restores biologically relevant deneddylase activity. This study presents detailed insights into CSN5 regulation. Additionally, a dynamic monomer-dimer equilibrium exists both in vitro and in vivo and may be functionally relevant.C ell signaling processes mediated by ubiquitinylation, the posttranslational covalent conjugation of ubiquitin molecules, are of prime importance for cellular activity and particularly for protein turnover. Ubiquitin-ligase enzymes (E3s) are responsible for the last step of the ubiquitinylation reaction, and the multisubunit cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin ligases (CRLs) represent the most prominent of E3 enzymes. Among the several factors that regulate CRL activity, cullin neddylation/deneddylation cycles are central (1).The Cop9 signalosome (CSN), which is an eight-subunit complex largely conserved through evolution, deneddylates CRLs and thereby regulates CRL activity. As a large number of proteins are ubiquitinylated by CRLs, the CSN complex is implicated in the control of a significant proportion of the proteome, including prooncogenes, tumor suppressors, and other important cellular protagonists (1). Not surprisingly, the CSN has been implicated in various cellular functions, ranging from cell cycles to circadian rhythm and to immunity in various organisms. Furthermore, many studies have found a strong link between the CSN and cancers (2).The CSN, a multi-protein complex of about 320 kDa, contains six proteasome Cop9 eIF3 (PCI)-based subunits and two MPR1-Pad1-N-terminal (MPN)-based subunits. The subunit 5 [CSN5; also known as c-Jun activation domain-binding protein-1 (...

Phosphorylation of SPAT-1/Bora by Cdk1 enhances Plk1 phosphorylation by Aurora A and promotes entry into mitosis in C. elegans.

SUMMARYThe molecular mechanisms that regulate cell cycle progression in a developmental context are poorly understood. Here, we show that the leucine-rich repeat protein LRR-1 promotes cell cycle progression during C. elegans development, both in the germ line and in the early embryo. Our results indicate that LRR-1 acts as a nuclear substrate-recognition subunit of a Cullin 2-RING E3 ligase complex (CRL2 ), which ensures DNA replication integrity. LRR-1 contains a typical BC/Cul-2 box and binds CRL2 components in vitro and in vivo in a BC/Cul-2 box-dependent manner. Loss of lrr-1 function causes cell cycle arrest in the mitotic region of the germ line, resulting in sterility due to the depletion of germ cells. Inactivation of the DNA replication checkpoint signaling components ATL-1 and CHK-1 suppresses this cell cycle arrest and, remarkably, restores lrr-1 mutant fertility. Likewise, in the early embryo, loss of lrr-1 function induces CHK-1 phosphorylation and a severe cell cycle delay in P lineage division, causing embryonic lethality. Checkpoint activation is not constitutive in lrr-1 mutants but is induced by DNA damage, which may arise due to re-replication of some regions of the genome as evidenced by the accumulation of single-stranded DNA-replication protein A (ssDNA-RPA-1) nuclear foci and the increase in germ cell ploidy in lrr-1 and lrr-1; atl-1 double mutants, respectively. Collectively, these observations highlight a crucial function of the CRL2 LRR-1 complex in genome stability via maintenance of DNA replication integrity during C. elegans development. The CRL2

The conserved Bora protein is a Plk1 activator, essential for checkpoint recovery after DNA damage in human cells. Here, we show that Bora interacts with Cyclin B and is phosphorylated by Cyclin B/Cdk1 at several sites. The first 225 amino acids of Bora, which contain two Cyclin binding sites and three conserved phosphorylated residues, are sufficient to promote Plk1 phosphorylation by Aurora A in vitro. Mutating the Cyclin binding sites or the three conserved phosphorylation sites abrogates the ability of the N terminus of Bora to promote Plk1 activation. In human cells, Bora-carrying mutations of the three conserved phosphorylation sites cannot sustain mitotic entry after DNA damage. In C. elegans embryos, mutation of the three conserved phosphorylation sites in SPAT-1, the Bora ortholog, results in a severe mitotic entry delay. Our results reveal a crucial and conserved role of phosphorylation of the N terminus of Bora for Plk1 activation and mitotic entry.

Life of sexually reproducing organisms starts with the fusion of the haploid egg and sperm gametes to form the genome of a new diploid organism. Using the newly fertilized Caenorhabditis elegans zygote, we show that the mitotic Polo-like kinase PLK-1 phosphorylates the lamin LMN-1 to promote timely lamina disassembly and subsequent merging of the parental genomes into a single nucleus after mitosis. Expression of non-phosphorylatable versions of LMN-1, which affect lamina depolymerization during mitosis, is sufficient to prevent the mixing of the parental chromosomes into a single nucleus in daughter cells. Finally, we recapitulate lamina depolymerization by PLK-1 in vitro demonstrating that LMN-1 is a direct PLK-1 target. Our findings indicate that the timely removal of lamin is essential for the merging of parental chromosomes at the beginning of life in C. elegans and possibly also in humans, where a defect in this process might be fatal for embryo development.

The ubiquitin-proteolytic system controls the stability of proteins in space and time. In this study, using a temperature-sensitive mutant allele of the cul-2 gene, we show that CRL2LRR-1 (CUL-2 RING E3 ubiquitin-ligase and the Leucine Rich Repeat 1 substrate recognition subunit) acts at multiple levels to control germline development. CRL2LRR-1 promotes germ cell proliferation by counteracting the DNA replication ATL-1 checkpoint pathway. CRL2LRR-1 also participates in the mitotic proliferation/meiotic entry decision, presumably controlling the stability of meiotic promoting factors in the mitotic zone of the germline. Finally, CRL2LRR-1 inhibits the first steps of meiotic prophase by targeting in mitotic germ cells degradation of the HORMA domain-containing protein HTP-3, required for loading synaptonemal complex components onto meiotic chromosomes. Given its widespread evolutionary conservation, CUL-2 may similarly regulate germline development in other organisms as well.

Dephosphorylation of MEI-1 activates katanin during meiosis, whereas ubiquitin-mediated degradation of both MEI-1 and its activator PPFR-1 ensure efficient katanin inactivation during mitosis.

Spatio-temporal coordination of events during cell division is crucial for animal development. In recent years, emerging data have strengthened the notion that tight coupling of cell cycle progression and cell polarity in dividing cells is crucial for asymmetric cell division and ultimately for metazoan development. Although it is acknowledged that such coupling exists, the molecular mechanisms linking the cell cycle and cell polarity machineries are still under investigation. Key cell cycle regulators control cell polarity, and thus influence cell fate determination and/or differentiation, whereas some factors involved in cell polarity regulate cell cycle timing and proliferation potential. The scope of this review is to discuss the data linking cell polarity and cell cycle progression, and the importance of such coupling for asymmetric cell division. Because studies in model organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster have started to reveal the molecular mechanisms of this coordination, we will concentrate on these two systems. We review examples of molecular mechanisms suggesting a coupling between cell polarity and cell cycle progression.