Deregulation of mitotic microtubule (MT) dynamics results in defective spindle assembly and chromosome missegregation, leading further to chromosome instability, a hallmark of tumor cells. RBP-J interacting and tubulin-associated protein (RITA) has been identified as a negative regulator of the Notch signaling pathway. Intriguingly, deregulated RITA is involved in primary hepatocellular carcinoma and other malignant entities. We were interested in the potential molecular mechanisms behind its involvement. We show here that RITA binds to tubulin and localizes to various mitotic MT structures. RITA coats MTs and affects their structures in vitro as well as in vivo. Tumor cell lines deficient of RITA display increased acetylated α-tubulin, enhanced MT stability and reduced MT dynamics, accompanied by multiple mitotic defects, including chromosome misalignment and segregation errors. Re-expression of wild-type RITA, but not RITA Δtub ineffectively binding to tubulin, restores the phenotypes, suggesting that the role of RITA in MT modulation is mediated via its interaction with tubulin. Mechanistically, RITA interacts with tubulin/histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) and its suppression decreases the binding of the deacetylase HDAC6 to tubulin/MTs. Furthermore, the mitotic defects and increased MT stability are also observed in RITA mouse embryonic fibroblasts. RITA has thus a novel role in modulating MT dynamics and its deregulation results in erroneous chromosome segregation, one of the major reasons for chromosome instability in tumor cells.

Preeclampsia is one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity and its pathogenesis is not fully understood. B-cell lymphoma 6 (BCL6), a key regulator of B-lymphocyte development, is altered in preeclamptic placentas. We show here that BCL6 is present in all 3 studied trophoblast cell lines and it is predominantly expressed in trophoblastic HTR-8/SVneo cells derived from a 1 st trimester placenta, suggestive of its involvement in trophoblast expansion in the early stage of placental development. BCL6 is strongly stabilized upon stress stimulation. Inhibition of BCL6, by administrating either small interfering RNA or a specific small molecule inhibitor 79-6, reduces proliferation and induces apoptosis in trophoblastic cells. Intriguingly, depletion of BCL6 in HTR-8/SVneo cells results in a mitotic arrest associated with mitotic defects in centrosome integrity, indicative of its involvement in mitotic progression. Thus, like in haematopoietic cells and breast cancer cells, BCL6 promotes proliferation and facilitates survival of trophoblasts under stress situation. Further studies are required to decipher its molecular roles in differentiation, migration and the fusion process of trophoblasts. Whether increased BCL6 observed in preeclamptic placentas is one of the causes or the consequences of preeclampsia warrants further investigations in vivo and in vitro.

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RITA, the RBP‐J interacting and tubulin‐associated protein, has been reported to be related to tumor development, but the underlying mechanisms are not understood. Since RITA interacts with tubulin and coats microtubules of the cytoskeleton, we hypothesized that it is involved in cell motility. We show here that depletion of RITA reduces cell migration and invasion of diverse cancer cell lines and mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Cells depleted of RITA display stable focal adhesions (FA) with elevated active integrin, phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase, and paxillin. This is accompanied by enlarged size and disturbed turnover of FA. These cells also demonstrate increased polymerized tubulin. Interestingly, RITA is precipitated with the lipoma‐preferred partner (LPP), which is critical in actin cytoskeleton remodeling and cell migration. Suppression of RITA results in reduced LPP and α‐actinin at FA leading to compromised focal adhesion turnover and actin dynamics. This study identifies RITA as a novel crucial player in cell migration and invasion by affecting the turnover of FA through its interference with the dynamics of actin filaments and microtubules. Its deregulation may contribute to malignant progression.

The mitotic centromere-associated kinesin (MCAK), a potent microtubule depolymerase, is involved in regulating microtubule dynamics. The activity and subcellular localization of MCAK are tightly regulated by key mitotic kinases, such as Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) by phosphorylating multiple residues in MCAK. Since Plk1 phosphorylates very often different residues of substrates at different stages, we have dissected individual phosphorylation of MCAK by Plk1 and characterized its function in more depth. We have recently shown that S621 in MCAK is the major phosphorylation site of Plk1, which is responsible for regulating MCAK's degradation by promoting the association of MCAK with APC/CCdc20. In the present study, we have addressed another two residues phosphorylated by Plk1, namely S632/S633 in the C-terminus of MCAK. Our data suggest that Plk1 phosphorylates S632/S633 and regulates its catalytic activity in mitosis. This phosphorylation is required for proper spindle assembly during early phases of mitosis. The subsequent dephosphorylation of S632/S633 might be necessary to timely align the chromosomes onto the metaphase plate. Therefore, our studies suggest new mechanisms by which Plk1 regulates MCAK: the degradation of MCAK is controlled by Plk1 phosphorylation on S621, whereas its activity is modulated by Plk1 phosphorylation on S632/S633 in mitosis.