Table 1.
Mitotic kinases required for spindle assembly, congression, and the spindle checkpointa
| Family | Mammalian mitosis-specific member | Mitotic functions | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cdk | Cdk1 (together with cyclins A and B) | Mitotic entry, nuclear envelope breakdown, chromosome condensation, bipolar spindle assembly, microtubule attachment, APC/C regulation, spindle checkpoint regulation | 20a, 67a |
| Polo kinase | Plk1 | Mitotic entry, centrosome maturation, cohesion removal, bipolar spindle assembly, microtubule attachment stability, cytokinesis | 1, 71a |
| Aurora kinase | Aurora A | Mitotic entry, Plk1 activation in late G2, centrosomes maturation, centrosome-dependent and -independent bipolar spindle formation | 8a, 47, 48b |
| Aurora B | Catalytic subunit of the chromosomal passenger complex, spindle assembly, correction of tensionless microtubule attachments, sister chromatid and centromeric cohesion removal, cytokinesis and furrow ingression, kinase activity may regulate a prolonged spindle checkpoint-mediated arrest | ||
| Aurora C | Meiotic functions, somatic role unclear | ||
| NIMA kinase | NEK2A | Mitotic and meiotic spindle assembly, centrosome splitting, microtubule attachment stability | 68a |
| NEK6 | Mitotic progression | 68b, 103a | |
| Mitotic checkpoint kinase | Bub1 | Regulation of end-on microtubule attachments at kinetochores, regulates the spindle checkpoint through recruitment of Mad1, Mad2, and Mad3/BubR1 | 2a, 96a, 96b |
| BubR1 | Regulation of microtubule attachment stability, core checkpoint component through APC/CCdc20 inhibition | 2a | |
| hMps1/TTK (Hs), Esk (Mm) | Correction of improper microtubule attachments, control of the spindle checkpoint through kinetochore recruitment of Mad1 and Mad2, kinetochore recruitment of the Rod-Zwilch-ZW10 complex | 27a, 34a, 48a, 52a, 82a | |
| MAPK | MAPK1/2, p38 | Phosphorylation of Cdc20, Mps1, and Bub1; mitotic progression; kinetochore-microtubule attachment | 13, 13a, 105 |
| Haspin | Haspin | Histone H3 phosphorylation, chromosome congression | 27b |
| Pre-mRNA processing | PRP4 | Kinetochore recruitment of Mps1, Mad1, and Mad2 | 61a |
| ILK | ILK | Spindle assembly | 23a |
a
This table is not meant to be exhaustive, and kinases not involved in the mitotic checkpoint or spindle assembly and stability are not included.