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Aurora B maintains spherical shape of mitotic cells via simultaneously stabilizing myosin II and vimentin 
Chenxi Hou1,2 , Fazhi Yu1,2 , Cheng Cao3 , Tianchen Wang2 , Zihang Pan2 , Mingru Zhong2 , Xing Liu2 , Xuebiao Yao2 , Kaiguang Zhang1 , Zhenye Yang1,2,4,* , Jing Guo1,*
1Department of Digestive disease, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
2MOE Key Laboratory for Cellular Dynamics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
3Center for Reproduction and Genetics, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230001, China
4Center for Advanced Interdisciplinary Science and Biomedicine of IHM, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
*Correspondence to:Jing Guo , Email:jguo2013@ustc.edu.cn Zhenye Yang , Email:zhenye@ustc.edu.cn
J Mol Cell Biol, Volume 17, Issue 5, May 2025, mjaf023,  https://doi.org/10.1093/jmcb/mjaf023
Keyword: mitosis, rounding, cortex, Aurora B, vimentin

Cells round up when they enter mitosis and maintain this rounded morphology until they pass the spindle assembly checkpoint during anaphase. However, the mechanisms that regulate and maintain this transient spherical state remain unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that both astral microtubules and Aurora B kinase are required to maintain cortex stability during prometaphase. Simultaneous inhibition of astral microtubules and Aurora B leads to severe and continuous deformation of mitotic cells, resulting in micronuclei containing chromosomes after the cells exit mitosis. Mechanistically, active Aurora B kinase reduces the activity of myosin light chain kinase through phosphorylation, which in turn decreases the motor activity of myosin II. Additionally, Aurora B kinase regulates the distribution of actin at the cortex by phosphorylating the intermediate filament protein vimentin. Blocking these phosphorylation events disrupts the para-cortex localization of vimentin around the cortex and leads to the dislocalization of actin at the cortex. These regulatory effects occur in highly mobile cells expressing vimentin. In summary, we show that during mitosis, Aurora B kinase coordinates the interactions between microtubules, actin, and intermediate filaments to stabilize the cortex of rounded mitotic cells, ensuring the successful completion of mitosis.