title: Identification and comparative analysis of multiple mammalian Speedy/Ringo proteins.
abstract: In addition to their activation via binding to cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) can be activated via binding to a novel cell cycle regulator termed Speedy/Ringo, which shows no apparent similarity to cyclins. The first Speedy/Ringo protein was found to be essential for Xenopus oocyte maturation and a human homolog (Spy1, herein called Speedy/ Ringo A1) regulates S-phase entry and cell survival after DNA damage in cultured somatic cells. We have identified a Speedy/Ringo-like gene in the most primitive branching clade of chordates (Ciona intestinalis), as well as four mammalian homologs. Of the mammalian proteins, two, Speedy/Ringo A and C, bind to Cdc2 and Cdk2, whereas Speedy/Ringo B binds preferentially to Cdc2. Despite their distinct CDK-binding preferences, both Speedy/Ringo A and B can promote the maturation of Xenopus oocytes and all three Speedy/Ringo proteins can bind to and activate CDKs in vivo. These mammalian Speedy/Ringo proteins exhibit distinct tissue expression patterns, though all three are enriched in testis, consistent with the initial observation that Xenopus Speedy/Ringo functions during meiosis. Speedy/Ringo A is widely expressed in tissues and cell lines. Speedy/Ringo B expression appears to be testis-specific. Speedy/Ringo C is expressed in diverse tissues, particularly those that undergo polyploidization. All Speedy/Ringo proteins share a highly conserved approximately 140-aa domain we term the Speedy/Ringo box that is essential for CDK binding. Point mutations in this domain abolish CDK binding. Besides the central Speedy/Ringo box, Speedy/Ringo A contains a C-terminal portion, which promotes CDK activation, and an N-terminal portion, which is dispersible for both CDK binding and activation but that influences protein expression. The existence of this growing family of CDK activators suggests that Speedy/Ringo proteins may play as complex a role in cell cycle control as the diverse family of cyclins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
authors.forename: Aiyang
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Ferrell
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Solomon
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D016203:CDC2 Protein Kinase / Q000502:physiology; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D051357:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2 / Q000502:physiology; D016213:Cyclins / Q000502:physiology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D040681:Structural Homology, Protein; D029867:Xenopus Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014982:Xenopus laevis
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D016213:Cyclins; C486530:SPDYA protein, human; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; C119055:ls27 protein, Xenopus; D016203:CDC2 Protein Kinase; D051357:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2