Chromosomal instability (CIN) is a hallmark of tumor cells caused by changes in the dynamics and control of microtubules that compromise the mitotic spindle. Thus, CIN cells may respond differently than diploid cells to treatments that target mitotic spindle regulation. Here, we test this idea by inhibiting a subset of kinesin motor proteins involved in mitotic spindle control. KIF18A is required for proliferation of CIN cells derived from triple negative breast cancer or colorectal cancer tumors but is not required in near-diploid cells. Following KIF18A inhibition, CIN tumor cells exhibit mitotic delays, multipolar spindles, and increased cell death. Sensitivity to KIF18A knockdown is strongly correlated with centrosome fragmentation, which requires dynamic microtubules but does not depend on bipolar spindle formation or mitotic arrest. Our results indicate the altered spindle microtubule dynamics characteristic of CIN tumor cells can be exploited to reduce the proliferative capacity of CIN cells.

Chromosomal instability (CIN), characterized by frequent missegregation of chromosomes during mitosis, is a hallmark of tumor cells caused by changes in the dynamics and control of microtubules that comprise the mitotic spindle 1-3 . Thus, CIN tumor cells may respond differently than normal diploid cells to treatments that target mitotic spindle regulation. We tested this idea by inhibiting a subset of kinesin motor proteins that control spindle microtubule dynamics and mechanics but are not required for the proliferation of near-diploid cells. Our results indicate that KIF18A is required for proliferation of CIN cells derived from triple negative breast cancer or colorectal cancer tumors but not normal breast epithelial cells or near-diploid colorectal cancer cells exhibiting microsatellite instability. CIN tumor cells exhibit mitotic delays, multipolar spindles due to centrosome fragmentation, and increased cell death following inhibition of KIF18A. These mitotic defects were further enhanced by increasing the activity of the microtubule depolymerizing kinesin KIF2C/MCAK and are reminiscent of the phenotypes that result from clinically relevant doses of the chemotherapeutic drug paclitaxel 4 . Our results indicate that the altered spindle microtubule dynamics characteristic of CIN tumor cells can be exploited to reduce their proliferative capacity.

Kinetochore protein phosphorylation promotes the correction of erroneous microtubule attachments to ensure faithful chromosome segregation during cell division. Determining how phosphorylation executes error correction requires an understanding of whether kinetochore substrates are completely (i.e., all-or-none) or only fractionally phosphorylated. Using quantitative mass spectrometry (MS), we measured phospho-occupancy on the conserved kinetochore protein Hec1 (NDC80) that directly binds microtubules. None of the positions measured exceeded ∼50% phospho-occupancy, and the cumulative phospho-occupancy changed by only ∼20% in response to changes in microtubule attachment status. The narrow dynamic range of phospho-occupancy is maintained, in part, by the ongoing phosphatase activity. Further, both Cdk1–Cyclin B1 and Aurora kinases phosphorylate Hec1 to enhance error correction in response to different types of microtubule attachment errors. The low inherent phospho-occupancy promotes microtubule attachment to kinetochores while the high sensitivity of kinetochore–microtubule attachments to small changes in phospho-occupancy drives error correction and ensures high mitotic fidelity.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the second most common senile neurodegenerative disease. FTD is a heterogeneous disease that can be classified into several subtypes. A mutation in CHMP2B locus (CHMP2Bintron5), which encodes a component of endosomal sorting complex required for transport-III (ESCRT-III), is associated with a rare hereditary subtype of FTD linked to chromosome 3 (FTD-3). ESCRT is involved in critical cellular processes such as multivesicular body (MVB) formation during endosomal–lysosomal pathway and autophagy. ESCRT mutants causes diverse physiological defects primarily due to accumulation of endosomes and defective MVBs resulting in misregulation of signaling pathways. Charged multivesicular body protein 2B (CHMP2B) is important for neuronal physiology which especially rely on precise regulation of protein homeostasis due to their post-mitotic status. Drosophila has proven to be an excellent model for charaterization of mechanistic underpinning of neurodegenerative disorders including FTD. In this review, current understanding of various FTD-related mutations is discussed with a focus on Drosophila models of CHMP2Bintron5-associated FTD.

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