The ubiquitin ligase CRL2(ZYG11) targets cyclin B1 for degradation in a conserved pathway that facilitates mitotic slippage

The anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) ubiquitin ligase is known to target the degradation of cyclin B1, which is crucial for mitotic progression in animal cells. In this study, we show that the ubiquitin ligase CRL2(ZYG-11) redundantly targets the degradation of cyclin B1 in Caenorhabditis elegans and human cells. In C. elegans, both CRL2(ZYG-11) and APC/C are required for proper progression through meiotic divisions. In human cells, inactivation of CRL2(ZYG11A/B) has minimal effects on mitotic progression when APC/C is active. However, when APC/C is inactivated or cyclin B1 is overexpressed, CRL2(ZYG11A/B)-mediated degradation of cyclin B1 is required for normal progression through metaphase. Mitotic cells arrested by the spindle assembly checkpoint, which inactivates APC/C, often exit mitosis in a process termed “mitotic slippage,” which generates tetraploid cells and limits the effectiveness of antimitotic chemotherapy drugs. We show that ZYG11A/B subunit knockdown, or broad cullin–RING ubiquitin ligase inactivation with the small molecule MLN4924, inhibits mitotic slippage in human cells, suggesting the potential for antimitotic combination therapy.