Phosphorylation of SKAP by GSK3β ensures chromosome segregation by a temporal inhibition of Kif2b activity

Abstract

Chromosome segregation in mitosis is orchestrated by the dynamic interactions between the kinetochore and spindle microtubules. Our recent study shows SKAP is an EB1-dependent, microtubule plus-end tracking protein essential for kinetochore oscillations during mitosis. Here we show that phosphorylation of SKAP by GSK3β regulates Kif2b depolymerase activity by competing Kif2b for microtubule plus-end binding. SKAP is a bona fide substrate of GSK3β in vitro and the phosphorylation is essential for an accurate kinetochore-microtubule attachment in cells. The GSK3β-elicited phosphorylation sites were mapped by mass spectrometry and the phosphomimetic mutant of SKAP can rescue the phenotype of chromosome missegregation in SKAP-suppressed cells. Importantly, GSK3β-elicited phosphorylation promotes SKAP binding to Kif2b to regulate its depolymerase activity at the microtubule plus-ends. Based on those findings, we reason that GSK3β-SKAP-Kif2b signaling axis constitutes a dynamic link between spindle microtubule plus-ends and mitotic chromosomes to achieve faithful cell division.