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During mitotic cell division, chromosomes that carry genetic information are exactly duplicated to form two daughter cells. The protein Aurora B kinase plays a critical role in the regulation of chromosome segregation during mitosis. Because it is over expressed in tumor cells, a number of chemical inhibitors have been developed as potential anticancer drugs. Prof. Obuse and his colleagues at the Faculty of Advanced Life Science identified POGZ* as a binding partner for HP1 (Heterochomatin Protein 1) by their leading edge proteomic approach. They revealed that POGZ regulates mitotic progression by activating Aurora B and inducing the dissociation of both HP1 and Aurora B from chromosome arms. The inhibition of interaction between HP1 and POGZ abolished activity of Aurora B kinase, hints that POGZ can be utilized as a possible drug target to selectively kill dividing tumor cells. The results of this study were first reported in the July issue of Nature Cell Biology. *POGZ (pogo transposable element-derived protein with zinc finger domain)
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