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J. Cell Biol.,
Volume 142, Number 6, September 21, 1998 1533-1545


* Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway, which includes extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1, ERK2) and MAP
kinase kinases 1 and 2 (MKK1, MKK2), is well-known to be required for cell cycle progression from G1 to S
phase, but its role in somatic cell mitosis has not been
clearly established. We have examined the regulation
of ERK and MKK in mammalian cells during mitosis
using antibodies selective for active phosphorylated forms of these enzymes. In NIH 3T3 cells, both ERK
and MKK are activated within the nucleus during early
prophase; they localize to spindle poles between
prophase and anaphase, and to the midbody during cytokinesis. During metaphase, active ERK is localized in
the chromosome periphery, in contrast to active MKK,
which shows clear chromosome exclusion. Prophase activation and spindle pole localization of active ERK
and MKK are also observed in PtK1 cells. Discrete localization of active ERK at kinetochores is apparent by
early prophase and during prometaphase with decreased staining on chromosomes aligned at the
metaphase plate. The kinetochores of chromosomes
displaced from the metaphase plate, or in microtubule-disrupted cells, still react strongly with the active ERK
antibody. This pattern resembles that reported for the
3F3/2 monoclonal antibody, which recognizes a phosphoepitope that disappears with kinetochore attachment to the spindles, and has been implicated in the mitotic checkpoint for anaphase onset (. J. Cell Biol. 122:1311-1321). The 3F3/2
reactivity of kinetochores on isolated chromosomes decreases after dephosphorylation with protein phosphatase, and then increases after subsequent phosphorylation by purified active ERK or active MKK.
These results suggest that the MAP kinase pathway has
multiple functions during mitosis, helping to promote
mitotic entry as well as targeting proteins that mediate
mitotic progression in response to kinetochore attachment.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and § Molecular Cellular and Developmental
Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309
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