Coordinated control of both microtubule ends regulates mitotic spindle length
Abstract
The mitotic spindle is a biomechanical structure whose length must be precisely controlled to ensure faithful chromosome segregation. The treadmilling of microtubules towards spindle poles, termed poleward flux, is involved in spindle length control. However, poleward flux velocity has been shown to be both inversely and directly proportional to spindle length, a contradiction that remains unexplained by current mechanisms. Here we introduce a model which demonstrates that length-dependent regulation at both microtubule ends allows plus- and minus-end dynamics to synchronize with one another, enabling pathways of poleward-flux-based spindle length control which rectify previous results. Moreover, our model predicts that spindle length and poleward flux velocity can vary independently via simultaneous perturbations at both microtubule ends, which we validate with protein depletion experiments in human cells. Finally, we provide experimental evidence for length-dependent accumulation of proteins at microtubule minus-ends. Our results thus resolve a longstanding paradox and provide mechanistic insight into the reciprocal control of spindle length and poleward flux.
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BibTeX
@article{fiorenza2026coordinated,
title = {{Coordinated control of both microtubule ends regulates mitotic spindle length}},
author = {Shane A. Fiorenza and Sheba Cheeran and Elena Doria and Iva M. Tolić and Patrick Meraldi and Nenad Pavin},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-78426-8},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78426-8},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Coordinated control of both microtubule ends regulates mitotic spindle length
AU - Shane A. Fiorenza
AU - Sheba Cheeran
AU - Elena Doria
AU - Iva M. Tolić
AU - Patrick Meraldi
AU - Nenad Pavin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/17
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-78426-8
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-78426-8
AB - The mitotic spindle is a biomechanical structure whose length must be precisely controlled to ensure faithful chromosome segregation. The treadmilling of microtubules towards spindle poles, termed poleward flux, is involved in spindle length control. However, poleward flux velocity has been shown to be both inversely and directly proportional to spindle length, a contradiction that remains unexplained by current mechanisms. Here we introduce a model which demonstrates that length-dependent regulation at both microtubule ends allows plus- and minus-end dynamics to synchronize with one another, enabling pathways of poleward-flux-based spindle length control which rectify previous results. Moreover, our model predicts that spindle length and poleward flux velocity can vary independently via simultaneous perturbations at both microtubule ends, which we validate with protein depletion experiments in human cells. Finally, we provide experimental evidence for length-dependent accumulation of proteins at microtubule minus-ends. Our results thus resolve a longstanding paradox and provide mechanistic insight into the reciprocal control of spindle length and poleward flux.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -