ArticleCurrent biology : CB2017
Mapping Load-Bearing in the Mammalian Spindle Reveals Local Kinetochore Fiber Anchorage that Provides Mechanical Isolation and Redundancy.
Article in Current biology : CB, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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31 citing papers in PubMed, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Microtubule depolymerization at kinetochores restricts anaphase spindle elongation.Nature chemical biology · 2026Article
- Mechanical states of a motor protein in the spindle.Current biology : CB · 2026Article
- Bayesian data driven modelling of kinetochore dynamics: Space-time organisation of the human metaphase plate.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- NuMA mechanically reinforces the spindle independently of its partner dynein.Current biology : CB · 2025Article
- NuMA mechanically reinforces the spindle independently of its partner dynein.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Mechanisms underlying spindle assembly and robustness.Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology · 2023Review
- Kinetochore-fiber lengths are maintained locally but coordinated globally by poles in the mammalian spindle.eLife · 2023Article
- Kinetochore- and chromosome-driven transition of microtubules into bundles promotes spindle assembly.Nature communications · 2022Article
- Article
- Coupling of microtubule bundles isolates them from local disruptions to set the structural stability of the anaphase spindle.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- Length-dependent poleward flux of sister kinetochore fibers promotes chromosome alignment.Cell reports · 2022Article
- Article
- Directly Measuring Forces within Reconstituted Active Microtubule Bundles.Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE · 2022Article
- Optogenetic EB1 inactivation shortens metaphase spindles by disrupting cortical force-producing interactions with astral microtubules.Current biology : CB · 2022Article
- Force by minus-end motors Dhc1 and Klp2 collapses the S. pombe spindle after laser ablation.Biophysical journal · 2022Article
- K-fiber bundles in the mitotic spindle are mechanically reinforced by Kif15.Molecular biology of the cell · 2021Article
- Anaphase B: Long-standing models meet new concepts.Seminars in cell & developmental biology · 2021Review
- Role of spatial patterns and kinetochore architecture in spindle morphogenesis.Seminars in cell & developmental biology · 2021Review
- Tension promotes kinetochore-microtubule release by Aurora B kinase.The Journal of cell biology · 2021Article
- Chemical tools for dissecting cell division.Nature chemical biology · 2021Review
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4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Active forces generated at kinetochores move chromosomes, and the dynamic spindle must robustly anchor kinetochore fibers (k-fibers) to bear this load. The mammalian spindle bears the load of chromosome movement far from poles, but we do not know where and how-physically and molecularly-this load distributes across the spindle. In part, this is because probing spindle mechanics in live cells is difficult. Yet answering this question is key to understanding how the spindle generates and responds to force and performs its diverse mechanical functions. Here, we map load-bearing across the mammalian spindle in space-time and dissect local anchorage mechanics and mechanism. To do so, we laser-ablate single k-fibers at different spindle locations and in different molecular backgrounds and quantify the immediate relaxation of chromosomes, k-fibers, and microtubule speckles. We find that load redistribution is locally confined in all directions: along the first 3-4 μm from kinetochores, scaling with k-fiber length, and laterally within ∼2 μm of k-fiber sides, without detectable load sharing between neighboring k-fibers. A phenomenological model suggests that dense, transient crosslinks to the spindle along k-fibers bear the load of chromosome movement but that these connections do not limit the timescale of spindle reorganization. The microtubule crosslinker NuMA is needed for the local load-bearing observed, whereas Eg5 and PRC1 are not detectably required, suggesting specialization in mechanical function. Together, the data and model suggest that NuMA-mediated crosslinks locally bear load, providing mechanical isolation and redundancy while allowing spindle fluidity. These features are well suited to support robust chromosome segregation.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.