The centrosome contains proteins that control the organization of the microtubule cytoskeleton in interphase and mitosis. Its protein composition is tightly regulated through selective and cell cycle-dependent recruitment, retention, and removal of components. However, the mechanisms underlying protein delivery to the centrosome are not completely understood. We describe a novel function for th...

Primary cilia are sensory organelles located at the cell surface. Their assembly is primed by centrosome migration to the apical surface, yet surprisingly little is known about this initiating step. To gain insight into the mechanisms driving centrosome migration, we exploited the reproducibility of cell architecture on adhesive micropatterns to investigate the cytoskeletal remodeling supportin...

Centrosome duplication must be coupled to the main cell cycle to ensure that each cell has precisely two centrosomes at the onset of mitosis. Supernumerary centrosomes are commonly observed in cancer cells, and may contribute to tumorigenesis. Drosophila skpA, a component of SCF ubiquitin ligases, regulates the link between the cell and centrosome cycles. Lethal skpA null mutants exhibit dramat...

Centrosome duplication is indispensable for the formation of the bipolar mitotic spindle. Surprisingly, even if DNA replication or mitosis is inhibited, centrosome duplication can still occur [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. Thus, it remains unknown how centrosome duplication is coordinated with the cell cycle. Here, we show that centrosome duplication requires cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (Cdk2) in mammalian...

Centrosome amplification plays a key role in the origin of chromosomal instability (CIN) during cancer development and progression. In this study, MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines harboring abrogated p53 function (vMCF-7DNp53) were employed to investigate the relationship between induction of genotoxic stress, activation of cyclin-A/Cdk2 and Aurora-A oncogenic signalings and development of centro...

There is controversy concerning the source of new microtubules required for the development of neuronal axons. We have proposed that microtubules are released from the centrosome within the cell body of the neuron and are then translocated into the axon to support its growth. To investigate this possibility, we have developed an experimental regime that permits us to determine the fate of a sma...

Centrosomes are the principal microtubule organising centres in somatic cells. Abnormal centrosome number is common in tumours and occurs after gamma-irradiation and in cells with mutations in DNA repair genes. To investigate how DNA damage causes centrosome amplification, we examined cells that conditionally lack the Rad51 recombinase and thereby incur high levels of spontaneous DNA damage. Ra...

Proteins associated with the centrosome play key roles in mitotic progression in mammalian cells. The activity of Cdk1-opposing phosphatases at the centrosome must be inhibited during early mitosis to prevent premature dephosphorylation of Cdh1-an activator of the ubiquitin ligase anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome-and the consequent premature degradation of mitotic activators. In this paper,...

During asymmetric mitosis, both in male Drosophila germline stem cells and in mouse embryo neural progenitors, the mother centrosome is retained by the self-renewed cell; hence suggesting that mother centrosome inheritance might contribute to stemness. We test this hypothesis in Drosophila neuroblasts (NBs) tracing photo converted centrioles and a daughter-centriole-specific marker generated by...

The cells of many solid tumors have been found to contain supernumerary centrosomes, a condition known as centrosome amplification. Centrosome amplification, accompanied by the overexpression of an associated kinase, Aurora A (AurA), has been implicated in mechanisms leading to mitotic spindle aberrations, aneuploidy, and genomic instability. Using a well-established rat mammary model favorable...