DIAPH3 deficiency links microtubules to mitotic errors, defective neurogenesis, and brain dysfunction
Diaphanous (DIAPH) three (DIAPH3) is a member of the formin proteins that have the capacity to nucleate and elongate actin filaments and, therefore, to remodel the cytoskeleton. DIAPH3 is essential for cytokinesis as its dysfunction impairs the contractile ring and produces multinucleated cells. Here, we report that DIAPH3 localizes at the centrosome during mitosis and regulates the assembly and bipolarity of the mitotic spindle. DIAPH3-deficient cells display disorganized cytoskeleton and multipolar spindles. DIAPH3 deficiency disrupts the expression and/or stability of several proteins including the kinetochore-associated protein SPAG5. DIAPH3 and SPAG5 have similar expression patterns in the developing brain and overlapping subcellular localization during mitosis. Knockdown of SPAG5 phenocopies DIAPH3 deficiency, whereas its overexpression rescues the DIAHP3 knockdown phenotype. Conditional inactivation of Diaph3 in mouse cerebral cortex profoundly disrupts neurogenesis, depleting cortical progenitors and neurons, leading to cortical malformation and autistic-like behavior. Our data uncover the uncharacterized functions of DIAPH3 and provide evidence that this protein belongs to a molecular toolbox that links microtubule dynamics during mitosis to aneuploidy, cell death, fate determination defects, and cortical malformation.
Other Information
Published in: eLife
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
See article on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.7554/elife.61974
Funding
Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library.
History
Language
- English
Publisher
eLife Sciences PublicationsPublication Year
- 2021
License statement
This Item is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Institution affiliated with
- Hamad Bin Khalifa University
- College of Health and Life Sciences - HBKU