Requirement of Nek2a and cyclin A2 for Wapl-dependent removal of cohesin from prophase chromatin

Title data

Hellmuth, Susanne ; Stemmann, Olaf:
Requirement of Nek2a and cyclin A2 for Wapl-dependent removal of cohesin from prophase chromatin.
In: The EMBO Journal. (2024) .
ISSN 1460-2075
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.12.584565

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Abstract in another language

Sister chromatid cohesion is mediated by the cohesin complex. In mitotic prophase cohesin is removed from chromosome arms in a Wapl- and phosphorylation-dependent manner. Sgo1-PP2A protects pericentromeric cohesion by dephosphorylation of cohesin and its associated Wapl antagonist sororin. However, Sgo1-PP2A relocates to inner kinetochores well before sister chromatids are separated by separase, leaving pericentromeric regions unprotected. Why deprotected cohesin is not removed by Wapl remains enigmatic. By reconstituting Wapl-dependent cohesin removal from chromatin in vitro, we discovered a requirement for Nek2a and Cdk1/2-cyclin A2. These kinases phosphorylate cohesin-bound Pds5b, thereby converting it from a sororin- to a Wapl- interactor. Replacement of endogenous Pds5b by a phosphorylation mimetic variant causes premature sister chromatid separation (PCS). Conversely, phosphorylation- resistant Pds5b impairs chromosome arm separation in prometaphase-arrested cells and suppresses PCS in the absence of Sgo1. Early mitotic degradation of Nek2a and cyclin A2 may therefore explain why only separase, but not Wapl, can trigger anaphase.