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🔬general biology i review

Anaphase-promoting complex (APC)

Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025

Definition

The anaphase-promoting complex (APC) is a crucial protein complex that plays a key role in regulating the cell cycle, particularly during the transition from metaphase to anaphase. It functions as an E3 ubiquitin ligase, tagging specific proteins for degradation, which ensures the proper separation of chromosomes and progression through the cell cycle. By controlling the degradation of proteins like cyclins and securin, the APC helps maintain the order and timing of cell division.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

  1. The APC is activated by Cdc20, a regulatory protein that ensures it targets the correct substrates at the right time in the cell cycle.
  2. By promoting the degradation of cyclins, the APC helps to turn off cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), leading to exit from mitosis.
  3. The APC also marks securin for degradation, allowing separase to activate and cleave cohesin, which holds sister chromatids together.
  4. Failure of APC function can lead to chromosome missegregation and is implicated in various cancers due to unchecked cell division.
  5. The APC is highly conserved across species, indicating its fundamental role in cellular processes and organismal development.

Review Questions

  • How does the anaphase-promoting complex (APC) contribute to ensuring proper chromosome segregation during cell division?
    • The APC contributes to proper chromosome segregation by targeting key proteins for degradation, such as securin and specific cyclins. By marking securin for destruction, it allows separase to cleave cohesin proteins, facilitating the separation of sister chromatids. This action is essential for transitioning from metaphase to anaphase, ensuring that chromosomes are evenly distributed to daughter cells.
  • Discuss the consequences of dysfunctional anaphase-promoting complex (APC) activity on cellular health and cancer development.
    • Dysfunctional activity of the APC can lead to improper regulation of the cell cycle, resulting in chromosome missegregation and aneuploidy. This disruption can create genetic instability, which is a hallmark of many cancers. As cells continue to divide uncontrollably due to loss of cell cycle checkpoints, this can contribute to tumorigenesis and cancer progression.
  • Evaluate how understanding the mechanisms of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC) could influence future cancer therapies.
    • Understanding the mechanisms of the APC opens avenues for targeted cancer therapies by identifying potential drugs that could modulate its activity. By restoring normal APC function in cancer cells or developing inhibitors that prevent its degradation processes in certain tumor types, researchers could create strategies to re-establish control over the cell cycle. Additionally, personalized medicine approaches could utilize APC activity levels as biomarkers for prognosis and treatment efficacy in cancer patients.