Use of Mitotic Protein Kinase Inhibitors and Phospho-Specific Antibodies to Monitor Protein Phosphorylation During the Cell Cycle

Reversible protein phosphorylation regulates the transitions between different phases of the cell cycle ensuring proper segregation of the duplicated genome into two daughter cells. Protein kinases and protein phosphatases establish the appropriate phosphorylation stoichiometries in diverse substrates maintaining genomic stability as a cell undergoes this complex process. Along with regulating common substrates, these opposing enzymes regulate one another by fine-tuning each other's activity both spatially and temporally throughout mitosis. Protein phosphatase catalytic subunits work together with regulatory proteins, which control their localization, activity, and specificity. Protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) recognizes its regulatory proteins via a short linear interaction motif (SLIM) called the "RVxF" motif. A subset of proteins with these "RVxF" motifs contain a phosphorylatable amino acid (S/T) at the 'x' position.Here, we describe methods to generate, affinity purify and utilize phospho-specific antibodies to monitor phosphorylation sites during the cell cycle and the appropriate use of mitotic kinase inhibitors. More specifically, we employ phospho-specific antibodies, which recognize phosphorylated RVp[S/T]F motif-containing proteins, to monitor the phosphorylation status of these motifs throughout the cell cycle. Furthermore, we use mitotic kinase inhibitors to examine the effect of kinase inhibition on the phosphorylation status of multiple RV[S/T]F motifs using these phospho-specific antibodies.