Article
- The EMBO Journal (2007) 26, 1624 - 1636
- doi:10.1038/sj.emboj.7601637
Published online: 1 March 2007
Subject Categories:
Rho GTPases regulate PRK2/PKN2 to control entry into mitosis and exit from cytokinesis
Anja Schmidt1, Joanne Durgan1,2, Ana Magalhaes1,2 and Alan Hall1,2
- Medical Research Council Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, Cancer Research UK Oncogene and Signal Transduction Group, University College London, London, UK
- Present address: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue Box 572, New York, NY 10021, USA
Correspondence to:
Alan Hall, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue Box 572, New York, NY 10021, USA. Tel./Fax: +1 212 639 2387; E-mail: halla@mskcc.org
Received 19 September 2006; Accepted 5 February 2007
Abstract
Rho GTPases regulate multiple signal transduction pathways that influence many aspects of cell behaviour, including migration, morphology, polarity and cell cycle. Through their ability to control the assembly and organization of the actin and microtubule cytoskeletons, Rho and Cdc42 make several key contributions during the mitotic phase of the cell cycle, including spindle assembly, spindle positioning, cleavage furrow contraction and abscission. We now report that PRK2/PKN2, a Ser/Thr kinase and Rho/Rac effector protein, is an essential regulator of both entry into mitosis and exit from cytokinesis in HeLa S3 cells. PRK2 is required for abscission of the midbody at the end of the cell division cycle and for phosphorylation and activation of Cdc25B, the phosphatase required for activation of mitotic cyclin/Cdk1 complexes at the G2/M transition. This reveals an additional step in the mammalian cell cycle controlled by Rho GTPases.
Keywords:
- cell cycle,
- Cdc25B,
- Cdk1,
- PRK,
- Rho GTPase
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