Mos oncogene product associates with kinetochores in mammalian somatic cells and disrupts mitotic progression.

The mos protooncogene has opposing effects on cell cycle progression. It is required for reinitiation of meiotic maturation and for meiotic progression through metaphase II, yet it is an active component of cytostatic factor. mos is a potent oncogene in fibroblasts, but high levels of expression are lethal. The lethality of mos gene expression in mammalian cells could be a consequence of a blockage induced by its cytostatic factor-related activity, which may appear at high dosage in mitotic cells. We have directly tested whether expression of the Mos protein can block mitosis in mammalian cells by microinjecting a fusion protein between Escherichia coli maltose-binding protein and Xenopus c-Mos into PtK1 epithelial cells and analyzing the cells by video time-lapse and immunofluorescence microscopy. Time-course analyses showed that Mos blocked mitosis by preventing progression to a normal metaphase. Chromosomes frequently failed to attain a bipolar orientation and were found near one pole. Injection of a kinase-deficient mutant Mos had no effect on mitosis, indicating that the blockage of mitotic progression required Mos kinase activity. Antitubulin immunostaining of cells blocked by Mos showed that microtubules were present but that spindle morphology was abnormal. Immunostaining for the Mos fusion protein showed that both wild-type and kinase mutant proteins localized at the kinetochores. Our results suggest that mitotic blockage by Mos may result from an action of the Mos kinase on the kinetochores, thus increasing chromosome instability and preventing normal congression.