title: Spindle orientation: what if it goes wrong?
abstract: The angle of cell division is critical in at least two contexts. It can determine cell fate, as it does in developing neural tissue. It can also dictate tissue architecture, as it does in many epithelia. One way to ensure the correct angle of cell division is through controlled orientation of the spindle at metaphase. What happens when that control is lost? Ongoing work suggests that the consequence of metaphase spindle misorientation may be significant, but multiple mechanisms exist to protect the cell and the tissue. We speculate that one such mechanism involves a recently identified anaphase activity for two of the key players at metaphase: NuMA (Mud, LIN-5) and dynein.
authors: The Gurdon Institute, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QN, United Kingdom; The Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QN, United Kingdom. Electronic address: db476@cam.ac.uk.
authors: Dan T
authors: DT
authors: Bergstralh
authors: The Gurdon Institute, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QN, United Kingdom; The Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QN, United Kingdom. Electronic address: d.stjohnston@gurdon.cam.ac.uk.
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: St Johnston
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D034961:Antigens, Nuclear / Q000502:physiology; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000473:pathology; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008938:Mitosis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D034521:Nuclear Matrix-Associated Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D008941:Spindle Apparatus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D034961:Antigens, Nuclear; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; C050045:NUMA1 protein, human; D034521:Nuclear Matrix-Associated Proteins
keywords: Epithelia; Metaphase; Neuroblast; NuMa/Mud/LIN-5; Spindle orientation; Tumorigenesis