HURP (green) is localized close to chromosomes (blue).
HURP was previously associated with hepatocellular carcinoma, but Wong and Fang picked it out as being induced during mitosis and showing covariation with known mitotic regulators. Almost half of all HURP-depleted cells had one or more unaligned chromosome during metaphase. The kinetochores of these chromosomes were not attached to microtubules, and even attached kinetochores were under less tension than in a normal spindle.
HURP has also shown up recently as part of a complex from frog egg extracts that is required for the conversion of aster-like to spindle-like structures (Koffa, M.D., et al. 2006. Curr. Biol. 16:743-754). The complex consists of two characterized microtubule-associated proteins (TPX2 and XMAP215), a plus end-directed microtubule motor (Eg5), a mitotic kinase...
