Regulation of mitotic exit by the RNF8 ubiquitin ligase

RNF8 is a ubiquitin ligase with a FHA domain near its N terminus, and a RING-finger domain at its C terminus, through which it recruits several ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes. In metazoans, only the mitotic checkpoint regulator CHFR shares this domain architecture. Here we show that RNF8 is a nuclear protein that follows a cell-cycle-dependent turnover, reaching its highest levels in mitosis, followed by a strong decline in late mitotic stages. Overexpression of RNF8 caused a delay in cytokinesis and the frequent appearance of aberrant mitotic figures. These effects were dependent on the ubiquitin ligase activity of RNF8, since they were significantly attenuated when a RING-finger mutant, inactive as an E3, was over-expressed. Depletion of RNF8 also caused a delay in the exit from the mitotic arrest induced by nocodazole, associated with a reduced turnover of the APC/C substrate cyclin B1. These observations suggest that RNF8 regulates the rate of exit from mitosis and cytokinesis.