Shugoshins function as a guardian for chromosomal stability in nuclear division.
Accurate chromosome segregation during mitosis and meiosis is regulated and secured by several distinctly different yet intricately connected regulatory mechanisms. As chromosomal instability is a hallmark of a majority of tumors as well as a cause of infertility for germ cells, extensive research in the past has focused on the identification and characterization of molecular components that are crucial for faithful chromosome segregation during cell division. Shugoshins, including Sgo1 and Sgo2, are evolutionarily conserved proteins that function to protect sister chromatid cohesion, thus ensuring chromosomal stability during mitosis and meiosis in eukaryotes. Recent studies reveal that Shugoshins in higher animals play an essential role not only in protecting centromeric cohesion of sister chromatids and assisting bi-orientation attachment at the kinetochores, but also in safeguarding centriole cohesion/engagement during early mitosis. Many molecular components have been identified that play essential roles in modulating/mediating Sgo functions. This review primarily summarizes recent advances on the mechanisms of action of Shugoshins in suppressing chromosomal instability during nuclear division in eukaryotic organisms.
Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, Tuxedo, NY, USA.
Yixin
Y
Yao
Wei
W
Dai
D000818:Animals; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D048750:Cell Nucleus Division; D002503:Centromere / Q000378:metabolism; D043171:Chromosomal Instability; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone / Q000378:metabolism; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000378:metabolism; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000097722:Cohesins
D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; D006657:Histones; D010940:Plant Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D000097722:Cohesins