Chromosome alignment to the spindle equator (also known as chromosome congression) is a hallmark of mitosis that promotes chromosome segregation fidelity in metazoans by preventing chromosome dispersion upon sister chromatid separation during anaphase 1–3. Chromosome alignment in human cells relies on the concerted action of motor-dependent and independent mechanisms, which are determined by chromosome positioning at nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB), the establishment of end-on or lateral kinetochore-microtubule interactions and specific tubulin post-translation modifications 4–11. Thus, understanding how human cells respond to chromosome alignment defects is a question of fundamental importance and with strong clinical implications. Here we used high-content live-cell imaging of human HeLa cells stably expressing histone H2B-GFP and α-tubulin-mRFP combined with RNAi of 125 proteins previously implicated in chromosome alignment to inquire how human cells respond to chromosome alignment defects of distinct molecular nature. This allowed the investigation of the consequences of a broad range of chromosome alignment defects for mitotic fidelity and cell viability, offering a powerful resource open to the cell division community.
When referring to this online resource, please cite:
Gomes, A.M., Orr, B., Novais-Cruz, M., De Sousa, F., Macário-Monteiro, J., Lemos, C., Ferrás, C., and Maiato, H. (2022) Micronuclei from misaligned chromosomes that satisfy the spindle assembly checkpoint in cancer cells. Curr Biol. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.026
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