Protein phosphatases in the regulation of mitosis

    29 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The accurate segregation of genetic material to daughter cells during mitosis depends on the precise coordination and regulation of hundreds of proteins by dynamic phosphorylation. Mitotic kinases are major regulators of protein function, but equally important are protein phosphatases that balance their actions, their coordinated activity being essential for accurate chromosome segregation. Phosphoprotein phosphatases (PPPs) that dephosphorylate phosphoserine and phosphothreonine residues are increasingly understood as essential regulators of mitosis. In contrast to kinases, the lack of a pronounced peptide-binding clef on the catalytic subunit of PPPs suggests that these enzymes are unlikely to be specifc. However, recent exciting insights into how mitotic PPPs recognize specifc substrates have revealed that they are as specifc as kinases. Furthermore, the activities of PPPs are tightly controlled at many levels to ensure that they are active only at the proper time and place. Here, I will discuss substrate selection and regulation of mitotic PPPs focusing mainly on animal cells and explore how these actions control mitosis, as well as important unanswered questions.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number395
    JournalThe Journal of Cell Biology
    Volume218
    Issue number2
    Number of pages15
    ISSN0021-9525
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2019

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