Interplay between Cdh1 and JNK activity during the cell cycle

The ubiquitin ligase APC/C(Cdh1) coordinates degradation of key cell cycle regulators. We report here that a nuclear-localized portion of the stress-activated kinase JNK is degraded by the APC/C(Cdh1) during exit from mitosis and G1 phase of the cell cycle. Expression of a non-degradable JNK induces prometaphase-like arrest and aberrant mitotic spindle dynamics. Moreover, JNK directly phosphorylates Cdh1, during G2 and early mitosis, changing its subcellular localization and attenuating its ability to activate the APC/C during G2/M. The newly identified regulatory mechanism between JNK and Cdh1 reveals an important function for JNK during the cell cycle.