Review

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 8, 379-393 (May 2007) | doi:10.1038/nrm2163

The spindle-assembly checkpoint in space and time

Andrea Musacchio1 & Edward D. Salmon2  About the authors

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In eukaryotes, the spindle-assembly checkpoint (SAC) is a ubiquitous safety device that ensures the fidelity of chromosome segregation in mitosis. The SAC prevents chromosome mis-segregation and aneuploidy, and its dysfunction is implicated in tumorigenesis. Recent molecular analyses have begun to shed light on the complex interaction of the checkpoint proteins with kinetochores — structures that mediate the binding of spindle microtubules to chromosomes in mitosis. These studies are finally starting to reveal the mechanisms of checkpoint activation and silencing during mitotic progression.

Author affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan; and Research Unit of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) Foundation at the IFOM-IEO Campus, Via Adamello 16, I-20135 Milan, Italy.
  2. Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3280, USA.

Correspondence to: Andrea Musacchio1 Email: andrea.musacchio@ifom-ieo-campus.it

Correspondence to: Edward D. Salmon2 Email: tsalmon@email.unc.edu

Published online 11 April 2007

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