Human-specific nuclear protein that associates with the polar region of the mitotic apparatus: Distribution in a human/hamster hybrid cell

NuMA Influences Higher Order Chromatin Organization in Human Mammary Epithelium

“…To confirm that NuMA was present in the chromatin fraction, nuclei were isolated from cells cultured under 2D conditions and treated to separate the chromatin from the nondigestible nuclear remnant according to classical chromatin fractionation methods (Wysocka et al, 2001). Western blot analysis indicated that NuMA was present in the nondigestible nuclear compartment obtained upon micrococcal nuclease treatment, in agreement with previous observations (Lydersen and Pettijohn, 1980;Zeng et al, 1994b). However, NuMA was also abundantly present (ϳ73% of the total amount proceeding from the chromatin and nondigestible nuclear fractions, as measured by densitometry) in the chromatin compartment ( Figure 2B).…”

“…NuMA has generally been considered a nuclear matrix protein because of its presence in fractions resistant to detergent extraction and DNA digestion (Lydersen and Pettijohn, 1980;Zeng et al, 1994a, b). However, there is evidence that NuMA colocalizes with the chromatin-associated architectural protein HMG I/Y (Tabellini et al, 2001)-thought to play a role in chromatin structure and transcriptional regulation-and also interacts with the putative transcription factor GAS41 (Harborth et al, 2000).…”

“…The nuclear mitotic apparatus protein (NuMA) was first described in 1980 (Lydersen and Pettijohn, 1980) and observed to concentrate at the spindle poles during mitosis. Subsequently NuMA, variously named SPN antigen, p240 antigen, centrophilin, 1F1/1H1 antigen, SP-H antigen, and W1 antigen (Compton et al, 1991(Compton et al, , 1992Kallajoki et al, 1991Kallajoki et al, , 1993Maekawa et al, 1991;Tousson et al, 1991;Yang et al, 1992;Maekawa and Kuriyama, 1993;Tang et al, 1993), was shown to be a critical player in the formation and stabilization of the mitotic spindle, notably by associating with the minus end of spindle microtubules and interacting with dynein, dynactin, and LGN (Compton and Cleveland, 1993;Gaglio et al, 1995;Merdes et al, 2000;Du et al, 2001;Gehmlich et al, 2004).…”

Cytokinesis arrest and multiple centrosomes in B cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia

“…These results further support that CLL cells exploit mitosis defects since under physiological conditions, NuMA localizes to the nucleus during interphase and is dispersed throughout the cytoplasm during mitosis 30, 31…”

Skeletor, a Novel Chromosomal Protein That Redistributes during Mitosis Provides Evidence for the Formation of a Spindle Matrix

“…In female meiotic cells, in the absence of centrosomes, microtubules nucleated around chromosomes and then self-organized into a bipolar spindle (Gard 1992; Theurkauf and Hawley 1992). Various nuclear molecules have been directly shown to undergo a mitosis-specific redistribution pattern and associate with microtubules and centrosomes, including the centromere proteins (CENPs) (Pankov et al 1990; Yen et al 1991; Casiano et al 1993), the inner centromere proteins (INCENPs) (Cooke et al 1987; Earnshaw and Cooke 1991; Mackay et al 1993), and the nuclear mitotic apparatus (NuMA) proteins (Lydersen and Pettijohn 1980; Compton et al 1992; Yang and Snyder 1992). Furthermore, the discovery of microtubule flux at both ends of spindle microtubules (Mitchison 1989; Sawin and Mitchison 1991, Sawin and Mitchison 1994), in conjunction with the demonstration that chromosomes whose kinetochore fibers have been severed by UV-microbeam irradiation still moved poleward (Forer et al 1997), suggest that current models for how chromosomes move to the poles are incomplete and that additional structural components of the spindle apparatus may exist (for review see Pickett-Heaps et al 1997).…”