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The C. elegans embryo is a powerful model system for studying the mechanics of metazoan cell division. Its primary advantage is that the architecture of the syncytial gonad makes it possible to use RNAi to generate oocytes whose cytoplasm is reproducibly (typically >95%) depleted of targeted essential gene products via a process that does not depend exclusively on intrinsic protein turnover. The depleted oocytes can then be analyzed as they attempt their first mitotic division following fertilization. Here we outline the characteristics that contribute to the usefulness of the C. elegans embryo for cell division studies. We provide a timeline for the first embryonic mitosis and highlight some of its key features. We also summarize some of the recent discoveries made using this system, particularly in the areas of nuclear envelope assembly/ dissassembly, centrosome dynamics, formation of the mitotic spindle, kinetochore assembly, chromosome segregation, and cytokinesis.
1. The C. elegans embryo as a system to study cell division
The C. elegans embryo is a powerful model system for studying the mechanics of metazoan cell division. Its primary advantage is that the syncytial gonad makes it possible to use RNA interference (RNAi) to generate oocytes whose cytoplasm is reproducibly (>95%) depleted of targeted essential gene products. Introduction of dsRNA rapidly catalyzes the destruction of the corresponding mRNA in many different systems. However, depletion of pre-existing protein is generally a slow process that depends on the half-life of the targeted protein. In contrast, in the C. elegans gonad, the protein present when the dsRNA is introduced is depleted by the continual packaging of maternal cytoplasm into oocytes (Figure 1). Since depletion relies on the rate of embryo production instead of protein half-life, the kinetics tend to be similar for different targets. By 36-48 hours after introduction of the dsRNA, newly formed oocytes are typically >95% depleted of the target protein.
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Cell cycle checkpoint controls play a major role in preventing the development of cancer [see Sherr, 1994, for a more detailed discussion]. Major checkpoints occur at the G1 to S phase transition and at the G2 to M phase transitions. Cancer is a genetic disease that arises from defects in growth-promoting oncogenes and growth-suppressing tumor suppressor genes. The p53 tumor suppressor protein plays a role in both the G1/S phase and G2/M phase checkpoints. The mechanism for this activity at the G1/S phase checkpoint is well understood, but its mechanism of action at the G2/M phase checkpoint remains to be elucidated. The p53 protein is thought to prevent chromosomal replication specifically during the cell cycle if DNA damage is present. In addition, p53 can induce a type of programmed cell death, or apoptosis, under certain circumstances. The general goal of p53 appears to be the prevention of cell propagation if mutations are present. The p53 protein acts as a transcription factor by binding to certain specific genes and regulating their expression. One of these, WAF1 or Cip1, is activated by p53 and is an essential downstream mediator of p53-dependent G1/S phase checkpoint control. The function of p53 can be suppressed by another gene, MDM2, which is overexpressed in certain tumorigenic mouse cells and binds to p53 protein, thus inhibiting its transcriptional activation function. Other cellular proteins have been found to bind to p53, but the significance of the associations is not completely understood in all cases. The large number of human cancers in which the p53 gene is altered makes this gene a good candidate for cancer screening approaches.
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