Multiple mechanisms determine ER network morphology during the cell cycle in Xenopus egg extracts

Multiple mechanisms determine ER network morphology during the cell cycle in Xenopus egg extracts

In metazoans the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) changes during the cell cycle, with the nuclear envelope (NE) disassembling and reassembling during mitosis and the peripheral ER undergoing extensive remodeling. Here we address how ER morphology is generated during the cell cycle using crude and fractionated Xenopus laevis egg extracts. We show that in interphase the ER is concentrated at the microt...

DNA replication and cell cycle control in Xenopus egg extracts.

Aspects of the regulation of DNA replication and mitosis have been studied using a cell-free extract of Xenopus eggs. The extract is characterized by repeated cycles of DNA replication and mitosis, which are accompanied by periodic synthesis and degradation of cyclins as well as fluctuations in the level of Histone H1 kinase activity. DNA replication in this system is dependent upon the formati...

Hysteresis drives cell-cycle transitions in Xenopus laevis egg extracts.

Cells progressing through the cell cycle must commit irreversibly to mitosis without slipping back to interphase before properly segregating their chromosomes. A mathematical model of cell-cycle progression in cell-free egg extracts from frog predicts that irreversible transitions into and out of mitosis are driven by hysteresis in the molecular control system. Hysteresis refers to toggle-like ...

Regulation of Op18 during Spindle Assembly in Xenopus Egg Extracts

Oncoprotein 18 (Op18) is a microtubule-destabilizing protein that is negatively regulated by phosphorylation. To evaluate the role of the three Op18 phosphorylation sites in Xenopus (Ser 16, 25, and 39), we added wild-type Op18, a nonphosphorylatable triple Ser to Ala mutant (Op18-AAA), and to mimic phosphorylation, a triple Ser to Glu mutant (Op18-EEE) to egg extracts and monitored spindle ass...

Cell-free apoptosis in Xenopus laevis egg extracts.