MCB Joint Seminar Series: Jing Chen "How mitotic spindles robustly recover bipolarity from monopolar and multipolar abnormalities"

In animal cells, each pole of a normal mitotic spindle is organized by a centrosome. Centrosome defects can disrupt this organization, producing abnormal monopolar or multipolar spindles. Remarkably, cells can often recover bipolarity by separating centrosomes in monopolar spindles or clustering them in multipolar spindles. To investigate the physical basis of this adaptability, we developed a parsimonious model, using effective potential energies to depict key mechanical forces that drive centrosome movements. The model predicts general biophysical factors essential for robust bipolarization of spindles that start monopolar or multipolar. By unifying diverse experimental phenomena within a single energetic framework, our model distills fundamental principles underlying bipolar spindle formation.