scholarly journals Robust control of mitotic spindle orientation in the developing epidermis

2010 ◽  
Vol 191 (5) ◽  
pp. 915-922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas D. Poulson ◽  
Terry Lechler

Progenitor cells must balance self-amplification and production of differentiated progeny during development and homeostasis. In the epidermis, progenitors divide symmetrically to increase surface area and asymmetrically to promote stratification. In this study, we show that individual epidermal cells can undergo both types of division, and therefore, the balance is provided by the sum of individual cells’ choices. In addition, we define two control points for determining a cell’s mode of division. First is the expression of the mouse Inscuteable gene, which is sufficient to drive asymmetric cell division (ACD). However, there is robust control of division orientation as excessive ACDs are prevented by a change in the localization of NuMA, an effector of spindle orientation. Finally, we show that p63, a transcriptional regulator of stratification, does not control either of these processes. These data have uncovered two important regulatory points controlling ACD in the epidermis and allow a framework for analysis of how external cues control this important choice.

eLife ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Mora-Bermúdez ◽  
Fumio Matsuzaki ◽  
Wieland B Huttner

Mitotic spindle orientation is crucial for symmetric vs asymmetric cell division and depends on astral microtubules. Here, we show that distinct subpopulations of astral microtubules exist, which have differential functions in regulating spindle orientation and division symmetry. Specifically, in polarized stem cells of developing mouse neocortex, astral microtubules reaching the apical and basal cell cortex, but not those reaching the central cell cortex, are more abundant in symmetrically than asymmetrically dividing cells and reduce spindle orientation variability. This promotes symmetric divisions by maintaining an apico-basal cleavage plane. The greater abundance of apical/basal astrals depends on a higher concentration, at the basal cell cortex, of LGN, a known spindle-cell cortex linker. Furthermore, newly developed specific microtubule perturbations that selectively decrease apical/basal astrals recapitulate the symmetric-to-asymmetric division switch and suffice to increase neurogenesis in vivo. Thus, our study identifies a novel link between cell polarity, astral microtubules, and spindle orientation in morphogenesis.


eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ognjen Golub ◽  
Brett Wee ◽  
Rhonda A Newman ◽  
Nicole M Paterson ◽  
Kenneth E Prehoda

Asymmetric division generates cellular diversity by producing daughter cells with different fates. In animals, the mitotic spindle aligns with Par complex polarized fate determinants, ensuring that fate determinant cortical domains are bisected by the cleavage furrow. Here, we investigate the mechanisms that couple spindle orientation to polarity during asymmetric cell division of Drosophila neuroblasts. We find that the tumor suppressor Discs large (Dlg) links the Par complex component atypical Protein Kinase C (aPKC) to the essential spindle orientation factor GukHolder (GukH). Dlg is autoinhibited by an intramolecular interaction between its SH3 and GK domains, preventing Dlg interaction with GukH at cortical sites lacking aPKC. When co-localized with aPKC, Dlg is phosphorylated in its SH3 domain which disrupts autoinhibition and allows GukH recruitment by the GK domain. Our work establishes a molecular connection between the polarity and spindle orientation machineries during asymmetric cell division.


2019 ◽  
Vol 316 (1) ◽  
pp. G64-G74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshitatsu Sei ◽  
Jianying Feng ◽  
Carson C. Chow ◽  
Stephen A. Wank

The normal intestinal epithelium is continuously regenerated at a rapid rate from actively cycling Lgr5-expressing intestinal stem cells (ISCs) that reside at the crypt base. Recent mathematical modeling based on several lineage-tracing studies in mice shows that the symmetric cell division-dominant neutral drift model fits well with the observed in vivo growth of ISC clones and suggests that symmetric divisions are central to ISC homeostasis. However, other studies suggest a critical role for asymmetric cell division in the maintenance of ISC homeostasis in vivo. Here, we show that the stochastic branching and Moran process models with both a symmetric and asymmetric division mode not only simulate the stochastic growth of the ISC clone in silico but also closely fit the in vivo stem cell dynamics observed in lineage-tracing studies. In addition, the proposed model with highest probability for asymmetric division is more consistent with in vivo observations reported here and by others. Our in vivo studies of mitotic spindle orientations and lineage-traced progeny pairs indicate that asymmetric cell division is a dominant mode used by ISCs under normal homeostasis. Therefore, we propose the asymmetric cell division-dominant neutral drift model for normal ISC homeostasis. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The prevailing mathematical model suggests that intestinal stem cells (ISCs) divide symmetrically. The present study provides evidence that asymmetric cell division is the major contributor to ISC maintenance and thus proposes an asymmetric cell division-dominant neutral drift model. Consistent with this model, in vivo studies of mitotic spindle orientation and lineage-traced progeny pairs indicate that asymmetric cell division is the dominant mode used by ISCs under normal homeostasis.


eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cuie Chen ◽  
Ryan Cummings ◽  
Aghapi Mordovanakis ◽  
Alan J Hunt ◽  
Michael Mayer ◽  
...  

Asymmetric stem cell division is a critical mechanism for balancing self-renewal and differentiation. Adult stem cells often orient their mitotic spindle to place one daughter inside the niche and the other outside of it to achieve asymmetric division. It remains unknown whether and how the niche may direct division orientation. Here we discover a novel and evolutionary conserved mechanism that couples cell polarity to cell fate. We show that the cytokine receptor homolog Dome, acting downstream of the niche-derived ligand Upd, directly binds to the microtubule-binding protein Eb1 to regulate spindle orientation in Drosophila male germline stem cells (GSCs). Dome’s role in spindle orientation is entirely separable from its known function in self-renewal mediated by the JAK-STAT pathway. We propose that integration of two functions (cell polarity and fate) in a single receptor is a key mechanism to ensure an asymmetric outcome following cell division.


2009 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 195a-196a
Author(s):  
Andrea Jiménez-Dalmaroni ◽  
Manuel Théry ◽  
Victor Racine ◽  
Michel Bornens ◽  
Frank Jülicher

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. e201800223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shrividya Sana ◽  
Riya Keshri ◽  
Ashwathi Rajeevan ◽  
Sukriti Kapoor ◽  
Sachin Kotak

Proper orientation of the mitotic spindle defines the correct division plane and is essential for accurate cell division and development. In metazoans, an evolutionarily conserved complex comprising of NuMA/LGN/Gαi regulates proper orientation of the mitotic spindle by orchestrating cortical dynein levels during metaphase. However, the molecular mechanisms that modulate the spatiotemporal dynamics of this complex during mitosis remain elusive. Here, we report that acute inactivation of Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) during metaphase enriches cortical levels of dynein/NuMA/LGN and thus influences spindle orientation. We establish that this impact of Plk1 on cortical levels of dynein/NuMA/LGN is through NuMA, but not via dynein/LGN. Moreover, we reveal that Plk1 inhibition alters the dynamic behavior of NuMA at the cell cortex. We further show that Plk1 directly interacts and phosphorylates NuMA. Notably, NuMA-phosphorylation by Plk1 impacts its cortical localization, and this is needed for precise spindle orientation during metaphase. Overall, our finding connects spindle-pole pool of Plk1 with cortical NuMA and answers a long-standing puzzle about how spindle-pole Plk1 gradient dictates proper spindle orientation for error-free mitosis.


1995 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 1071-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Goldstein

Cells of the early Caenorhabditis elegans embryo divide in an invariant pattern. Here I show that the division axes of some early cells (EMS and E) are controlled by specific cell-cell contacts (EMS-P2 or E-P3 contact). Altering the orientation of contact between these cells alters the axis along which the mitotic spindle is established, and hence the orientation of cell division. Contact-dependent mitotic spindle orientation appears to work by establishing a site of the type described by Hyman and White (1987. J. Cell Biol. 105:2123-2135) in the cortex of the responding cell: one centrosome moves toward the site of cell-cell contact during centrosome rotation in both intact embryos and reoriented cell pairs. The effect is especially apparent when two donor cells are placed on one side of the responding cell: both centrosomes are "captured," pulling the nucleus to one side of the cell. No centrosome rotation occurs in the absence of cell-cell contact, nor in nocodazole-treated cell pairs. The results suggest that some of the cortical sites described by Hyman and White are established cell autonomously (in P1, P2, and P3), and some are established by cell-cell contact (in EMS and E). Additional evidence presented here suggests that in the EMS cell, contact-dependent spindle orientation ensures a cleavage plane that will partition developmental information, received by induction, to one of EMS's daughter cells.


2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (42) ◽  
pp. E8847-E8854 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Kosetsu ◽  
Takashi Murata ◽  
Moé Yamada ◽  
Momoko Nishina ◽  
Joanna Boruc ◽  
...  

Proper orientation of the cell division axis is critical for asymmetric cell divisions that underpin cell differentiation. In animals, centrosomes are the dominant microtubule organizing centers (MTOC) and play a pivotal role in axis determination by orienting the mitotic spindle. In land plants that lack centrosomes, a critical role of a microtubular ring structure, the preprophase band (PPB), has been observed in this process; the PPB is required for orienting (before prophase) and guiding (in telophase) the mitotic apparatus. However, plants must possess additional mechanisms to control the division axis, as certain cell types or mutants do not form PPBs. Here, using live imaging of the gametophore of the moss Physcomitrella patens, we identified acentrosomal MTOCs, which we termed “gametosomes,” appearing de novo and transiently in the prophase cytoplasm independent of PPB formation. We show that gametosomes are dispensable for spindle formation but required for metaphase spindle orientation. In some cells, gametosomes appeared reminiscent of the bipolar MT “polar cap” structure that forms transiently around the prophase nucleus in angiosperms. Specific disruption of the polar caps in tobacco cells misoriented the metaphase spindles and frequently altered the final division plane, indicating that they are functionally analogous to the gametosomes. These results suggest a broad use of transient MTOC structures as the spindle orientation machinery in plants, compensating for the evolutionary loss of centrosomes, to secure the initial orientation of the spindle in a spatial window that allows subsequent fine-tuning of the division plane axis by the guidance machinery.


2002 ◽  
Vol 115 (11) ◽  
pp. 2257-2264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia A. Kaltschmidt ◽  
Andrea H. Brand

Asymmetric cell division can produce daughter cells with different developmental fates and is often accompanied by a difference in cell size. A number of recent genetic and in vivo imaging studies in Drosophilaand Caenorhabditis elegans have begun to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the rearrangements of the cytoskeleton that result in eccentrically positioned cleavage planes. As a result, we are starting to gain an insight into the complex nature of the signals controlling cytoskeletal dynamics in the dividing cell. In this commentary we discuss recent findings on how the mitotic spindle is positioned and on cleavage site induction and place them in the context of cell size asymmetry in different model organisms.


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