Anti-CENP-E

CENP-E is a kinesin-like protein that localizes specifically to kinectochores where it plays a critical role in establishing the microtubule attachments between the chromosomes and the spindle. Functional studies have shown that injections of CENP-E antibodies into HeLa cells did not interfere with the progression of the cells into mitosis, but rather, arrested the cells in mitosis as they failed to align their chromosomes at the spindle equator. All cells arrested in mitosis by CENP-E antibodies eventually died by apoptosis. Thus, CENP-E is essential for the completion of mitosis, though it is not vital for the progression of cells into mitosis. Additionally, CENP-E and its motor domain provide functions that are important in maintaining stable kinetochore-microtubule connections that allow chromosomes to establish bipolar connections and to align at the spindle equator.