Inner centromere protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the INCENPgene.[5][6][7]
In mammalian cells, two broad groups of centromere-interacting proteins have been described: constitutively binding centromere proteins and 'passenger' (or transiently interacting) proteins.[8] The constitutive proteins include CENPA (centromere protein A), CENPB, CENPC1, and CENPD.
The term 'passenger proteins' encompasses a broad collection of proteins that localize to the centromere during specific stages of the cell cycle.[9] These include CENPE; MCAK; KID; cytoplasmic dynein (e.g., DYNC1H1); CliPs (e.g. CLIP1); and CENPF/mitosin (CENPF). The inner centromere proteins (INCENPs),[5] the initial members of the passenger protein group, display a broad localization along chromosomes in the early stages of mitosis but gradually become concentrated at centromeres as the cell cycle progresses into mid-metaphase. During telophase, the proteins are located within the midbody in the intercellular bridge, where they are discarded after cytokinesis.[7][10]
INCENP is a regulatory protein in the chromosome passenger complex. It is involved in regulation of the catalytic protein Aurora B. It performs this function in association with two other proteins - Survivin and Borealin. These proteins form a tight three-helical bundle. The N-terminaldomain of INCENP is the domain involved in formation of this three-helical bundle.[11]
^"Human PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
^"Mouse PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
^ abEarnshaw WC, Cooke CA (Sep 1991). "Analysis of the distribution of the INCENPs throughout mitosis reveals the existence of a pathway of structural changes in the chromosomes during metaphase and early events in cleavage furrow formation". J Cell Sci. 98 (4): 443–61. PMID1860899.
^Adams RR, Eckley DM, Vagnarelli P, Wheatley SP, Gerloff DL, Mackay AM, Svingen PA, Kaufmann SH, Earnshaw WC (Jul 2001). "Human INCENP colocalizes with the Aurora-B/AIRK2 kinase on chromosomes and is overexpressed in tumour cells". Chromosoma. 110 (2): 65–74. doi:10.1007/s004120100130. PMID11453556.
^Choo, K. H. Andy (1997). The centromere. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-857780-X.
^Earnshaw WC, Mackay AM (September 1994). "Role of nonhistone proteins in the chromosomal events of mitosis". FASEB J. 8 (12): 947–56. PMID8088460.
^Cutts SM, Fowler KJ, Kile BT, Hii LL, O'Dowd RA, Hudson DF, Saffery R, Kalitsis P, Earle E, Choo KH (July 1999). "Defective chromosome segregation, microtubule bundling and nuclear bridging in inner centromere protein gene (Incenp)-disrupted mice". Hum. Mol. Genet. 8 (7): 1145–55. doi:10.1093/hmg/8.7.1145. PMID10369859.
^Jeyaprakash, A. A.; Klein, U. R.; Lindner, D.; Ebert, J.; Nigg, E. A.; Conti, E. (2007). "Structure of a Survivin–Borealin–INCENP Core Complex Reveals How Chromosomal Passengers Travel Together". Cell. 131 (2): 271–285. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2007.07.045. PMID17956729.
^Wheatley SP, Carvalho A, Vagnarelli P, Earnshaw WC (June 2001). "INCENP is required for proper targeting of Survivin to the centromeres and the anaphase spindle during mitosis". Curr. Biol. 11 (11): 886–90. doi:10.1016/S0960-9822(01)00238-X. PMID11516652.