How is the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint turned off?

当一个细胞分裂时，两个子细胞必须继承相同的染色体拷贝。当这个过程出错时，对细胞来说可能是致命的，甚至会导致癌症。为了防止这种错误，如果细胞检测到它的任何染色体没有被一种叫做有丝分裂纺锤体的机器拉到细胞中间，它就能在分裂过程中停下来等待。只有当所有的染色体都正确地附着在纺锤体上时，细胞才能继续分裂染色体。我们正在研究这一过程，特别是将细胞如何检测染色体是否附着在纺锤体上与驱动细胞进行有丝分裂的引擎联系起来的机制。我们想弄清楚，当所有染色体都连接在一起时，引擎上的“刹车”是如何被移除的。这一机制是许多抗癌药物的目标，因此，更好地了解这一机制的工作原理应该有助于设计出副作用更少的更好的药物。

When a cell divides it is essential that the two daughter cells inherit an equal and identical copy of the chromosomes. When this goes wrong it can be lethal for the cell, or even lead to cancer. To prevent such errors the cell is able to stop and wait in the middle of dividing if it detects that any of its chromosomes are not being pulled to the middle of the cell by a machine called the mitotic spindle. It is only when all the chromosomes are properly attached to the spindle that the cell goes on to divide its chromosomes. We are investigating this process and in particular the mechanism that links how the cell detects whether chromosomes are attached to the spindle to the engine that drives cells through mitosis. We would like work out how the 'brake' on the engine is removed when all the chromosomes are attached. This mechanism is the target of a number of anti-cancer drugs, therefore, a better understanding of how this mechanism works should help to design better drugs with fewer side-effects.