Rab11FIP1 maintains Rab35 at the intercellular bridge to promote actin removal and abscission.

Cytokinesis occurs at the end of mitosis/meiosis wherein the cytoplasms of daughter cells are separated. Before abscission, an intercellular bridge containing the remaining furrowing machinery, mitotic spindle and actin cytoskeleton connects the two daughter cells. To remove this actin and allow for the separation of daughter cells, Rab35 vesicles, loaded with the actin oxidizer MICAL1 and the inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase OCRL, are recruited to the midbody in a fine-tuned spatiotemporal manner. However, importantly, the means by which these vesicles are recruited is currently unclear. Here, we demonstrate that Rab11FIP1 is recruited to the midbody after Rab35 to scaffold it at the bridge and maintain Rab35 in this region. In the absence of Rab11FIP1, Rab35 dramatically drops from the midbody, inducing defects, such as cytokinetic delays and binucleation due to actin overaccumulation at the intercellular bridge, which can be rescued with Latrunculin A treatment. Importantly, we show that Rab11FIP1 is critical for Rab35 function in actin removal prior to cytokinesis. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

In Vitro Ubiquitination and Deubiquitination Assays of Nucleosomal Histones.

Ubiquitination is a post-translational modification that plays important roles in various signaling pathways and is notably involved in the coordination of chromatin function and DNA-associated processes. This modification involves a sequential action of several enzymes including E1 ubiquitin-activating, E2 ubiquitin-conjugating and E3 ubiquitin-ligase and is reversed by deubiquitinases (DUBs). Ubiquitination induces degradation of proteins or alteration of protein function including modulation of enzymatic activity, protein-protein interaction and subcellular localization. A critical step in demonstrating protein ubiquitination or deubiquitination is to perform in vitro reactions with purified components. Effective ubiquitination and deubiquitination reactions could be greatly impacted by the different components used, enzyme co-factors, buffer conditions, and the nature of the substrate.  Here, we provide step-by-step protocols for conducting ubiquitination and deubiquitination reactions. We illustrate these reactions using minimal components of the mouse Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 (PRC1), BMI1, and RING1B, an E3 ubiquitin ligase that monoubiquitinates histone H2A on lysine 119. Deubiquitination of nucleosomal H2A is performed using a minimal Polycomb Repressive Deubiquitinase (PR-DUB) complex formed by the human deubiquitinase BAP1 and the DEUBiquitinase ADaptor (DEUBAD) domain of its co-factor ASXL2. These ubiquitination/deubiquitination assays can be conducted in the context of either recombinant nucleosomes reconstituted with bacteria-purified proteins or native nucleosomes purified from mammalian cells. We highlight the intricacies that can have a significant impact on these reactions and we propose that the general principles of these protocols can be swiftly adapted to other E3 ubiquitin ligases and deubiquitinases.

The BAP1/ASXL2 Histone H2A Deubiquitinase Complex Regulates Cell Proliferation and Is Disrupted in Cancer.

The deubiquitinase (DUB) and tumor suppressor BAP1 catalyzes ubiquitin removal from histone H2A Lys-119 and coordinates cell proliferation, but how BAP1 partners modulate its function remains poorly understood. Here, we report that BAP1 forms two mutually exclusive complexes with the transcriptional regulators ASXL1 and ASXL2, which are necessary for maintaining proper protein levels of this DUB. Conversely, BAP1 is essential for maintaining ASXL2, but not ASXL1, protein stability. Notably, cancer-associated loss of BAP1 expression results in ASXL2 destabilization and hence loss of its function. ASXL1 and ASXL2 use their ASXM domains to interact with the C-terminal domain (CTD) of BAP1, and these interactions are required for ubiquitin binding and H2A deubiquitination. The deubiquitination-promoting effect of ASXM requires intramolecular interactions between catalytic and non-catalytic domains of BAP1, which generate a composite ubiquitin-binding interface (CUBI). Notably, the CUBI engages multiple interactions with ubiquitin involving (i) the ubiquitin carboxyl hydrolase catalytic domain of BAP1, which interacts with the hydrophobic patch of ubiquitin, and (ii) the CTD domain, which interacts with a charged patch of ubiquitin. Significantly, we identified cancer-associated mutations of BAP1 that disrupt the CUBI and notably an in-frame deletion in the CTD that inhibits its interaction with ASXL1/2 and DUB activity and deregulates cell proliferation. Moreover, we demonstrated that BAP1 interaction with ASXL2 regulates cell senescence and that ASXL2 cancer-associated mutations disrupt BAP1 DUB activity. Thus, inactivation of the BAP1/ASXL2 axis might contribute to cancer development.

Undetectable histone O-GlcNAcylation in mammalian cells.

O-GlcNAcylation is a posttranslational modification catalyzed by the O-Linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) transferase (OGT) and reversed by O-GlcNAcase (OGA). Numerous transcriptional regulators, including chromatin modifying enzymes, transcription factors, and co-factors, are targeted by O-GlcNAcylation, indicating that this modification is central for chromatin-associated processes. Recently, OGT-mediated O-GlcNAcylation was reported to be a novel histone modification, suggesting a potential role in directly coordinating chromatin structure and function. In contrast, using multiple biochemical approaches, we report here that histone O-GlcNAcylation is undetectable in mammalian cells. Conversely, O-GlcNAcylation of the transcription regulators Host Cell Factor-1 (HCF-1) and Ten-Eleven Translocation protein 2 (TET2) could be readily observed. Our study raises questions on the occurrence and abundance of O-GlcNAcylation as a histone modification in mammalian cells and reveals technical complications regarding the detection of genuine protein O-GlcNAcylation. Therefore, the identification of the specific contexts in which histone O-GlcNAcylation might occur is still to be established.