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Review
. 2008:617:41-56.
doi: 10.1007/978-0-387-69080-3_4.

Cdk1, Plks, Auroras, and Neks: the mitotic bodyguards

Patrick Salaun  1 , Yoann Rannou, Claude Prigent
Affiliations
Review

Cdk1, Plks, Auroras, and Neks: the mitotic bodyguards

Patrick Salaun et al. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2008.
No abstract available

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The different phases of the mitosis
During the interphase the cell’s nucleus is well defined, with two pairs of centrioles adjacent to the nucleus. At the end of the interphase, the genome has been duplicated but the chromosomes are not distinguishable. When prophase starts, the nucleoli disappear and the chromatin starts to coil and fold into observable chromosomes, the spindle forms and the centrosomes move apart. During prometaphase, the nuclear membrane breaks down and some of spindle microtubules attach to sister chromatids at the kinetochores. The microtubules start to deplace the chromatid pairs to form a metaphase plate. At the metaphase the chromosomes have moved to the center of the dividing cell along the metaphase plate. Identical chromatids are attached to kinetochore fibers radiating from opposite ends of the parent cell. The sister chromatids begin to separate at the anaphase when the spindle microtubules pull separating chromosomes to opposite poles. During telophase, daughter nuclei begin to assemble with nuclear envelopes appearing around chromosomes. Nucleoli reappear and chromosomes decondense. The last step of mitosis is the cytokinesis step. It occurs when a contractile ring of actin and myosin filaments constricts the plasma membrane at the equator, triggering the physical division of the two daughter cells.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Localization of the major mitotic kinase through the mitotic phase
One of the clue to succeed in mitosis for mitotic kinases, is to be “at the right place at the right moment”. The short summary of where the kinases have been found gives an idea of the complexity of the controls insured by mitotic protein kinases.
Figure 3
Figure 3. An overview of relationship between mitotic kinase expression and cancer
As mitosis regulators, the expression levels of the major mitotic kinases are crucial for cell division. In many cancers, up and down regulation of their expression have been observed, underlying the importance to follow the expression level of mitotic kinases for developing new targeted therapy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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