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Molecular glue controls chromosome segregation in oocytes

Date:
November 27, 2013
Source:
Institute of Molecular Biotechnology
Summary:
Most trisomic pregnancies arise as a consequence of chromosome missegregation in egg precursor cells called oocytes. Austrian researchers aim to understand the molecular causes of female age-dependent chromosome missegregation in oocytes. They have now discovered that a “molecular glue” called cohesin plays an important role in proper functioning of checkpoint control, ensuring correct chromosome segregation and production of euploid eggs.
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The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) is a surveillance mechanism that delays cell division until all chromosomes have attached to the spindle poles. If this mechanism is impaired in oocytes, it can result in chromosome missegregation and production of aneuploid fetuses, leading to abnormalities like Down’s syndrome (trisomy 21), Edward’s syndrome (trisomy 18) or Klinefelter’s syndrome (XXY). The IMBA researcher Kikue Tachibana-Konwalski and her team together with collaborators from the University of Oxford have now discovered that the proper functioning of the SAC in mammalian oocytes depends on the “molecular glue” called cohesin.

Cohesin is essential to hold replicated chromosomes together. Using molecular “scissors” in the form of TEV protease, the researchers inactivated cohesin to generate chromosomes that cannot bi-orient on the spindle and therefore would be expected to activate a checkpoint response and trigger a cell cycle arrest. Instead, they found that oocytes in which cohesin has been destroyed still divide and produce highly aneuploid eggs. Therefore, cohesin is required for a robust SAC in oocytes. This has important implications for ageing oocytes, where cohesin deterioration will compromise the SAC, leading to chromosome segregation errors.


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Materials provided by Institute of Molecular Biotechnology. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Kikue Tachibana-Konwalski. Spindle Assembly Checkpoint of Oocytes Depends on a Kinetochore Structure Determined by Cohesin in Meiosis I. Current Biology, November 2013

Cite This Page:

Institute of Molecular Biotechnology. "Molecular glue controls chromosome segregation in oocytes." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 27 November 2013. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131127122309.htm>.
Institute of Molecular Biotechnology. (2013, November 27). Molecular glue controls chromosome segregation in oocytes. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131127122309.htm
Institute of Molecular Biotechnology. "Molecular glue controls chromosome segregation in oocytes." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131127122309.htm (accessed March 18, 2024).

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