Cell cycle progression after cleavage failure: mammalian somatic cells do not possess a "tetraploidy checkpoint"

Centrosome amplification, chromosome instability and cancer development

During mitosis, two centrosomes form spindle poles and direct the formation of bipolar mitotic spindles, which is an essential event for accurate chromosome segregation into daughter cells. The presence of more than two centrosomes (centrosome amplification), severely disturbs mitotic process and cytokinesis via formation of more than two spindle poles, resulting in an increased frequency of chromosome segregation errors (chromosome instability). Destabilization of chromosomes by centrosome amplification aids acquisition of further malignant phenotypes, hence promoting tumor progression. Centrosome amplification occurs frequently in almost all types of cancer, and is considered as the major contributing factor for chromosome instability in cancer cells. Upon cytokinesis, each daughter cell receives one centrosome, and thus centrosome must duplicate once, and only once, before the next mitosis. If centrosomes duplicate more than once within a single cell cycle, centrosome amplification occurs, which is frequently seen in cells harboring mutations in some tumor suppressor proteins such as p53 and BRCA1. The recent studies have provided critical information for understanding how loss of these proteins allows multiple rounds of centrosome duplication. In this review, how centrosome amplification destabilizes chromosomes, how loss of certain tumor suppressor proteins leads to centrosome amplification, and the role of centrosome amplification in cancer development will be discussed.

Tetraploidy and tumor development

In tumorigenesis, aneuploidy is frequently preceded by tetraploidy. Major issues include how tetraploidy arises and how cells can effectively respond to this state. Two recent papers address these issues. Shi and King demonstrate that nondisjunction of chromosomes in mitosis frequently results in tetraploidy through mitotic cleavage failure. Fujiwara et al. demonstrate that p53 null tetraploid cells are highly competent to induce tumors in nude mice. Together, these papers emphasize the unique hazard of tetraploidy and the fact that p53 status has an intrinsic capacity to eliminate tetraploid cells and suppress tumorigenesis. This p53-dependent elimination may represent a checkpoint control.

Cytokinesis failure generating tetraploids promotes tumorigenesis in p53-null cells

A long-standing hypothesis on tumorigenesis is that cell division failure, generating genetically unstable tetraploid cells, facilitates the development of aneuploid malignancies. Here we test this idea by transiently blocking cytokinesis in p53-null (p53-/-) mouse mammary epithelial cells (MMECs), enabling the isolation of diploid and tetraploid cultures. The tetraploid cells had an increase in the frequency of whole-chromosome mis-segregation and chromosomal rearrangements. Only the tetraploid cells were transformed in vitro after exposure to a carcinogen. Furthermore, in the absence of carcinogen, only the tetraploid cells gave rise to malignant mammary epithelial cancers when transplanted subcutaneously into nude mice. These tumours all contained numerous non-reciprocal translocations and an 8-30-fold amplification of a chromosomal region containing a cluster of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) genes. MMP overexpression is linked to mammary tumours in humans and animal models. Thus, tetraploidy enhances the frequency of chromosomal alterations and promotes tumour development in p53-/- MMECs.

Chromosome nondisjunction yields tetraploid rather than aneuploid cells in human cell lines

Although mutations in cell cycle regulators or spindle proteins can perturb chromosome segregation, the causes and consequences of spontaneous mitotic chromosome nondisjunction in human cells are not well understood. It has been assumed that nondisjunction of a chromosome during mitosis will yield two aneuploid daughter cells. Here we show that chromosome nondisjunction is tightly coupled to regulation of cytokinesis in human cell lines, such that nondisjunction results in the formation of tetraploid rather than aneuploid cells. We observed that spontaneously arising binucleated cells exhibited chromosome mis-segregation rates up to 166-fold higher than the overall mitotic population. Long-term imaging experiments indicated that most binucleated cells arose through a bipolar mitosis followed by regression of the cleavage furrow hours later. Nondisjunction occurred with high frequency in cells that became binucleated by furrow regression, but not in cells that completed cytokinesis to form two mononucleated cells. Our findings indicate that nondisjunction does not directly yield aneuploid cells, but rather tetraploid cells that may subsequently become aneuploid through further division. The coupling of spontaneous segregation errors to furrow regression provides a potential explanation for the prevalence of hyperdiploid chromosome number and centrosome amplification observed in many cancers.

Ckap2 regulates aneuploidy, cell cycling, and cell death in a p53-dependent manner

We used DNA microarray screening to identify Ckap2 (cytoskeleton associated protein 2) as a novel p53 target gene in a mouse erythroleukemia cell line. DNA damage induces human and mouse CKAP2 expression in a p53-dependent manner and p53 activates the Ckap2 promoter. Overexpressed Ckap2 colocalizes with and stabilizes microtubules. In p53-null cells, overexpression of Ckap2 induces tetraploidy with aberrant centrosome numbers, suggesting disturbed mitosis and cytokinesis. In p53-competent cells, Ckap2 does not induce tetraploidy but activates p53-mediated cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Our data suggest the existence of a functional positive feedback loop in which Ckap2 activates the G1 tetraploidy checkpoint and prevents aneuploidy.

Two-way traffic: centrosomes and the cell cycle

The well recognized activities of the mammalian centrosome--microtubule nucleation, duplication, and organization of the primary cilium--are under the control of the cell cycle. However, the centrosome is more than just a follower of the cell cycle; it can also be essential for the cell to transit G1 and enter S phase. How the centrosome influences G1 progression is a mystery.

Aurora kinases, aneuploidy and cancer, a coincidence or a real link?

As Aurora kinases are overexpressed in a large number of cancers, and ectopic expression of Aurora generates polyploid cells containing multiple centrosomes, it has been tempting to suggest that Aurora overexpression provokes genetic instability underlying the tumorigenesis. However, examination of the evidence suggests a more complex relationship. Overexpression of Aurora-A readily transforms rat-1 and NIH3T3 cells, but not primary cells, whereas overexpression of Aurora-B induces metastasis after implantation of tumors in nude mice. Why do polyploid cells containing abnormal centrosome numbers induced by Aurora not get eliminated at cell-cycle checkpoints? Does this phenotype determine the origin of cancer or does it only promote tumor progression? Would drugs against Aurora family members be of any help for cancer treatment? These and related questions are addressed in this review (which is part of the Chromosome Segregation and Aneuploidy series).

Generating chromosome instability through the simultaneous deletion of Mad2 and p53

Cancer cells exhibit high levels of chromosome instability (CIN), and considerable interest surrounds the possibility that inactivation of the spindle checkpoint is involved. However, homozygous disruption of Mad and Bub checkpoint genes in metazoans causes cell death rather than CIN. We now report the isolation and characterization of blastocysts and two independent mouse embryonic fibroblast lines carrying deletions in Mad2 and p53. These cells lack a functional spindle checkpoint, undergo anaphase prematurely, and exhibit an extraordinarily high level of CIN. We conclude that the mitotic checkpoint is not essential for viability per se and that a CIN phenotype can be established in culture through the inactivation of both the Mad2- and p53-dependent checkpoint pathways.

Guilt by association? p53 and the development of aneuploidy in cancer

Aneuploidy is one of the most frequent genetic alterations in solid tumors. It is commonly caused by cell division errors that are induced by oncogene activation or loss of tumor suppressor functions. In addition, certain viral oncoproteins have been implicated in the induction of chromosome copy number changes. Aneuploidy and inactivation of p53 frequently coincide in human cancers but there is increasing evidence that loss of p53 by itself is not a primary cause of aneuploidy. Nonetheless, p53 inactivation synergizes with additional oncogenic events to promote aneuploidy and may facilitate chromosomal imbalances through indirect mechanisms. This review summarizes the current knowledge about the association between aneuploidy and p53, and discusses two of the most controversial mechanisms that have been implicated in genomic instability associated with loss of p53: subversion of ploidy control and aberrant centrosome duplication.

The molecular requirements for cytokinesis

After anaphase onset, animal cells build an actomyosin contractile ring that constricts the plasma membrane to generate two daughter cells connected by a cytoplasmic bridge. The bridge is ultimately severed to complete cytokinesis. Myriad techniques have been used to identify proteins that participate in cytokinesis in vertebrates, insects, and nematodes. A conserved core of about 20 proteins are individually involved with cytokinesis in most animal cells. These components are found in the contractile ring, on the central spindle, within the RhoA pathway, and on vesicles that expand the membrane and sever the bridge. Cytokinesis involves additional proteins, but they, or their requirement in cytokinesis, are not conserved among animal cells.

Mammalian cells lack checkpoints for tetraploidy, aberrant centrosome number, and cytokinesis failure

Background

Mammalian cells have been reported to have a p53-dependent tetraploidy checkpoint that blocks cell cycle progression in G1 in response to failure of cell division. In most cases where the tetraploidy checkpoint has been observed cell division was perturbed by anti-cytoskeleton drug treatments. However, other evidence argues against the existence of a tetraploidy checkpoint. Cells that have failed to divide differ from normal cells in having two nuclei, two centrosomes, a decreased surface to volume ratio, and having undergone an abortive cytokinesis. We tested each of these to determine which, if any, cause a G1 cell cycle arrest.

Results

Primary human diploid fibroblasts with intact cell cycle checkpoints were used in all experiments. Synchronized cells exhibited G1 arrest in response to division failure caused by treatment with either cytochalasin or the myosin II inhibitor blebbistatin. The role of tetraploidy, aberrant centrosome number, and increased cell size were tested by cell/cell and cell/cytoplast fusion experiments; none of these conditions resulted in G1 arrest. Instead we found that various drug treatments of the cells resulted in cellular damage, which was the likely cause of the arrest. When cytokinesis was blocked in the absence of damage-inducing drug treatments no G1 arrest was observed.

Conclusions

We show that neither tetraploidy, aberrant centrosome number, cell size, nor failure of cytokinesis lead to G1 arrest, suggesting that there is no tetraploidy checkpoint. Rather, certain standard synchronization treatments cause damage that is the likely cause of G1 arrest. Since tetraploid cells can cycle when created with minimal manipulation, previous reports of a tetraploidy checkpoint can probably be explained by side effects of the drug treatments used to observe them.

p53 deficiency exacerbates pleiotropic mitotic defects, changes in nuclearity and polyploidy in transdifferentiating pancreatic acinar cells

In a primary culture model for pancreatic acinar-ductal transdifferentiation, cells exhibited increased proliferation, changes in nuclearity and polyploidy. We identify the 'nucleus to centrosome' ratio of the progenitor cell, the dissemination of centrosomes at spindle poles and cytokinesis failure as critical determinants of mitosis outcome and centrosome inheritance. Abortive cytokinesis of mononuclear cells contributes to the binuclear cell pool, whereas enclosure of entire mitotic formations, within a single nuclear envelope, perpetuates polyploidization. Binuclear cell nuclei combine their genomes on a single metaphase plate, doubling descendant ploidy. Moreover, approximately 42% of binuclear and tetraploid cells assemble aberrant spindles with up to 8 centrosomes/poles. These phenotypes were exacerbated in p53-deficient cultures exhibiting increased S-phase entry, giant nuclei, multinucleation, multipolar mitoses and centrosome hyperamplification. The tendency of p53-proficient cells to spontaneously evade the tetraploidy checkpoint degenerates to uncontrolled polyploid progression in p53-deficient cultures, explaining why p53 abrogation alone rapidly descends to aneuploidy in this system. We detected constitutively nuclear mdm2, which may circumvent endogenous cell-cycle checkpoints, and pronounced accumulation of p21 and p27 in multinuclear cells and giant nuclei, consistent with roles in polyploidization. This in vitro model may recapitulate the processes underlying genomic instability in pancreatic tumours in vivo, and attests to the existence of a p53-dependent polyploidy checkpoint acting to limit the degree of polyploidization.

Regulation of cell cycle by the anaphase spindle midzone

BACKGROUND

A number of proteins accumulate in the spindle midzone and midbody of dividing animal cells. Besides proteins essential for cytokinesis, there are also components essential for interphase functions, suggesting that the spindle midzone and/or midbody may play a role in regulating the following cell cycle.

RESULTS

We microsurgically severed NRK epithelial cells during anaphase or telophase, such that the spindle midzone/midbody was associated with only one of the daughter cells. Time-lapse recording of cells severed during early anaphase indicated that the cell with midzone underwent cytokinesis-like cortical contractions and progressed normally through the interphase, whereas the cell without midzone showed no cortical contraction and an arrest or substantial delay in the progression of interphase. Similar microsurgery during telophase showed a normal progression of interphase for both daughter cells with or without the midbody. Microsurgery of anaphase cells treated with cytochalasin D or nocodazole indicated that interphase progression was independent of cortical ingression but dependent on microtubules.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that the mitotic spindle is involved in not only the separation of chromosomes but also the regulation of cell cycle. The process may involve activation of components in the spindle midzone that are required for the cell cycle, and/or degradation of components that are required for cytokinesis but may interfere with the cell cycle.

Stuck in division or passing through: what happens when cells cannot satisfy the spindle assembly checkpoint

Cells that cannot satisfy the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) are delayed in mitosis (D-mitosis), a fact that has useful clinical ramifications. However, this delay is seldom permanent, and in the presence of an active SAC most cells ultimately escape mitosis and enter the next G1 as tetraploid cells. This review defines and discusses the various factors that determine how long a cell remains in mitosis when it cannot satisfy the SAC and also discusses the cell's subsequent fate.

Cre-loxP-controlled periodic Aurora-A overexpression induces mitotic abnormalities and hyperplasia in mammary glands of mouse models

Aurora-A, a serine/threonine mitotic kinase, was reported to be overexpressed in various human cancers, and its overexpression induces aneuploidy, centrosome amplification and tumorigenic transformation in cultured human and rodent cells. However, the underlying mechanisms and pathological settings by which Aurora-A promotes tumorigenesis are largely unknown. Here, we created a transgenic mouse model to investigate the involvement of Aurora-A overexpression in the development of mammary glands and tumorigenesis using a Cre-loxP system. The conditional expression of Aurora-A resulted in significantly increased binucleated cell formation and apoptosis in the mammary epithelium. The surviving mammary epithelial cells composed hyperplastic areas after a short latency. Induction of Aurora-A overexpression in mouse embryonic fibroblasts prepared from the transgenic mice also led to aberrant mitosis and binucleated cell formation followed by apoptosis. The levels of p53 protein were remarkably increased in these Aurora-A-overexpressing cells, and the apoptosis was significantly suppressed by deletion of p53. Given that no malignant tumor formation was found in the Aurora-A-overexpressing mouse model after a long latency, additional factors, such as p53 inactivation, are required for the tumorigenesis of Aurora-A-overexpressing mammary epithelium. Our findings indicated that this mouse model is a useful system to study the physiological roles of Aurora-A and the genetic pathways of Aurora-A-induced carcinogenesis.

Cell division and cell survival in the absence of survivin

The survivin protein contains structural features of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family. Previous studies have suggested that survivin is essential for cell survival because it counteracts an otherwise constitutive propensity to apoptosis during mitosis. In addition, survivin appears to be a component of the chromosomal passenger protein complex that participates in multiple facets of cell division. Here we report that euploid human cells do not die in the absence of survivin. Instead, depletion of survivin caused defects in cell division, followed by an arrest of DNA synthesis due to activation of a checkpoint involving the tumor suppressor protein p53. During anaphase mitosis in survivin-deficient cells, sister chromatids disjoined normally, but one or more of the sister chromatids frequently lagged behind the main mass of segregating chromosomes, probably because of merotelic kinetochore attachments. Survivin-deficient cells initiated but failed to complete cytokinesis, apparently because the spindle midzone and midbody microtublues were absent during late mitosis. The abnormalities of both chromosome segregation and cytokinesis could be attributed to a defect in the chromosomal passenger protein complex, with a consequent mislocalization of the kinesin-like motor protein MKLP-1 playing a more immediate role in the microtubule abnormalities. Depletion of another chromosomal passenger protein, aurora-B, recapitulated the survivin RNA interference phenotypes. We conclude that survivin can be essential for the proliferation of normal human cells by virtue of its contributions to accurate sister chromatid segregation and assembly/stabilization of microtubules in late mitosis. However, the protein is not inevitably required for the survival of normal cells.

Triggering p53 after cytokinesis failure

Cells that fail to divide during cytokinesis often arrest in the next G1 phase by a mysterious mechanism that depends upon p53. What triggers this arrest is unclear. New studies, including a report in this issue (Uetake and Sluder, 2004) suggest that this arrest does not occur because cells are polyploid, are binucleate, have multiple centrosome, or have failed cytokinesis, making this phenomenon even more puzzling.