Abstract

Aurora B, together with IN-box, the C-terminal part of INCENP, forms an enzymatic complex that ensures faithful cell division. The [Aurora B/IN-box] complex is activated by autophosphorylation in the Aurora B activation loop and in IN-box, but it is not clear how these phosphorylations activate the enzyme. We used a combination of experimental and computational studies to investigate the effects of phosphorylation on the molecular dynamics and structure of [Aurora B/IN-box]. In addition, we generated partially phosphorylated intermediates to analyze the contribution of each phosphorylation independently. We found that the dynamics of Aurora and IN-box are interconnected, and IN-box plays both positive and negative regulatory roles depending on the phosphorylation status of the enzyme complex. Phosphorylation in the activation loop of Aurora B occurs intramolecularly and prepares the enzyme complex for activation, but two phosphorylated sites are synergistically responsible for full enzyme activity.

Data availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files. The mass spectrometry proteomics data are available through the ProteomeXchange Consortium via the PRIDE partner repository with the dataset identifier PXD038935.

The following data sets were generated

Article and author information

Author details

  1. Dario Segura-Peña

    Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
    For correspondence
    dario.segura-pena@ncmm.uio.no
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  2. Oda Hovet

    Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  3. Hemanga Gogoi

    Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  4. Jennine Dawicki-McKenna

    Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  5. Stine Malene Hansen Wøien

    Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  6. Manuel Carrer

    Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  7. Ben E Black

    Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  8. Michele Cascella

    Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
    For correspondence
    michele.cascella@kjemi.uio.no
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  9. Nikolina Sekulic

    Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
    For correspondence
    nikolina.sekulic@ncmm.uio.no
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-8027-9114

Funding

Norges Forskningsråd (187615)

  • Dario Segura-Peña
  • Oda Hovet
  • Hemanga Gogoi
  • Stine Malene Hansen Wøien
  • Nikolina Sekulic

Norges Forskningsråd (262695)

  • Oda Hovet
  • Manuel Carrer
  • Michele Cascella

Norwegian Supercomputing Program (NN4654K)

  • Oda Hovet
  • Manuel Carrer
  • Michele Cascella

Norges Forskningsråd (325528)

  • Nikolina Sekulic

National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R35-GM130302)

  • Jennine Dawicki-McKenna
  • Ben E Black

National Institute of General Medical Sciences (GM108360)

  • Jennine Dawicki-McKenna

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

Copyright

© 2023, Segura-Peña et al.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.

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  1. Dario Segura-Peña
  2. Oda Hovet
  3. Hemanga Gogoi
  4. Jennine Dawicki-McKenna
  5. Stine Malene Hansen Wøien
  6. Manuel Carrer
  7. Ben E Black
  8. Michele Cascella
  9. Nikolina Sekulic
(2023)
The structural basis of the multi-step allosteric activation of Aurora B kinase
eLife 12:e85328.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.85328

Share this article

https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.85328

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