Acidic nucleoplasmic DNA-binding protein (And-1) controls chromosome congression by regulating the assembly of centromere protein A (CENP-A) at centromeres.

The centromere is an epigenetically designated chromatin domain that is essential for the accurate segregation of chromosomes during mitosis. The incorporation of centromere protein A (CENP-A) into chromatin is fundamental in defining the centromeric loci. Newly synthesized CENP-A is loaded at centromeres in early G(1) phase by the CENP-A-specific histone chaperone Holliday junction recognition protein (HJURP) coupled with other chromatin assembly factors. However, it is unknown whether there are additional HJURP-interacting factor(s) involving in this process. Here we identify acidic nucleoplasmic DNA-binding protein 1 (And-1) as a new factor that is required for the assembly of CENP-A nucleosomes. And-1 interacts with both CENP-A and HJURP in a prenucleosomal complex, and the association of And-1 with CENP-A is increased during the cell cycle transition from mitosis to G(1) phase. And-1 down-regulation significantly compromises chromosome congression and the deposition of HJURP-CENP-A complexes at centromeres. Consistently, overexpression of And-1 enhances the assembly of CENP-A at centromeres. We conclude that And-1 is an important factor that functions together with HJURP to facilitate the cell cycle-specific recruitment of CENP-A to centromeres.