Research Interests

Research in my laboratory focuses on mechanisms of centromeric chromatin fiber assembly and propagation in the cell cycle. Working primarily in human cells, we examine the assembly pathways of chromatin proteins in live cells and couple this with functional analysis of cells. In this way we hope to understand how centromeres give rise to kinetochores in mitosis, the assembly pathways and design principles that accomplish this, and how it is subsequently prepared for replication in the next cell cycle. Our work integrates biochemistry, cell and molecular biology to study a key target of cancer chemotherapy: the dividing human cell.

 

 

Book Chapters

Dobie, IM, Lowndes, NF and Sullivan, KF (2008) 'Fluorescent Proteins, in Fluorescent Proteins' In: Sullivan, K.F (eds). Methods in Cell Biology. [Details]

Edited Books

Sullivan, KF; Kay, S (Ed.). (1998) Green Fluorescent Proteins: Methods in Cell Biol v. 58. New York: Academic Press. [Details]

Sullivan, KF (Ed.). (2008) Fluorescent Proteins: Methods Cell Biol v. 85. New York: Elsevier. [Details]

Peer Reviewed Journals

Sullivan, K.F. and Cleveland, D.W. (1984) 'Sequence of a highly divergent beta tubulin gene reveals regional heterogeneity in the beta tubulin polypeptide'. J Cell Biol, 99 :1754-1760. [Details]

Sullivan, K.F. and Wilson, L. (1984) 'Developmental and biochemical analysis of chick brain tubulin heterogeneity'. J Neurochem, 42 :1363-1371. [Details]

Wilson, L., Miller, H.P., Pfeffer, T.A., Sullivan, K.F., and Detrich, H.W. (1984) 'Colchicine-binding activity distinguishes sea urchin egg and outer doublet tubulins'. J Cell Biol, 99 :37-41. [Details]

Sullivan, K.F., Lau, J.T., and Cleveland, D.W. (1985) 'Apparent gene conversion between beta-tubulin genes yields multiple regulatory pathways for a single beta-tubulin polypeptide isotype'. Mol Cell Biol, 5 :2454-2465. [Details]

Sullivan, K.F., Machlin, P.S., Ratrie, H., and Cleveland, D.W. (1986) 'Sequence and expression of the chicken beta 3 tubulin gene'. A vertebrate testis beta-tubulin isotype J Biol Chem, 261 :13317-13322. [Details]

Sullivan, K.F. and Cleveland, D.W. (1986) 'Identification of conserved isotype-defining variable region sequences for four vertebrate beta tubulin polypeptide classes'. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 83 :4327-4331. [Details]

Sullivan, K.F., Havercroft, J.C., Machlin, P.S., and Cleveland, D.W. (1986) 'Sequence and expression of the chicken beta 5- and beta 4- tubulin genes define a pair of divergent beta-tubulins with complementary patterns of expression'. Mol Cell Biol 6, 6 :4409-4418. [Details]

Earnshaw, W.C., Sullivan, K.F., Machlin, P.S., Cooke, C.A., Kaiser, D.A., Pollard, TD, Rothfield, N.F., and Cleveland, D.W. (1987) 'Molecular cloning of cDNA for CENP-B, the major human centromere autoantigen'. J Cell Biol, 104 :817-829. [Details]

Tan, C.K., Sullivan, K., Li, X.Y., Tan, E.M., Downey, K.M., and So, A.G. (1987) 'Autoantibody to the proliferating cell nuclear antigen neutralizes the activity of the auxiliary protein for DNA polymerase delta'. Nucleic Acids Res, 15 :9299-9308. [Details]

Moore, K.S., Sullivan, K., Tan, E.M., and Prystowsky, M.B. (1987) 'Proliferating cell nuclear antigen/cyclin is an interleukin 2- responsive gene'. J Biol Chem, 262 :8447-8450. [Details]

Ben-Chetrit, E., Chan, E.K., Sullivan, K.F., and Tan, E.M. (1988) 'A 52-kD protein is a novel component of the SS-A/Ro antigenic particle'. J Exp Med, 167 :1560-1571. [Details]

Chan, E.K., Sullivan, K.F., Fox, R.I., and Tan, E.M. (1989) 'Sjogren's syndrome nuclear antigen B La : cDNA cloning, structural domains, and autoepitopes'. J Autoimmun, 2 :321-327. [Details]

Chan, E.K., Sullivan, K.F., and Tan, E.M. (1989) 'Ribonucleoprotein SS-B/La belongs to a protein family with consensus sequences for RNA-binding'. Nucleic Acids Res, 17 :2233-2244. [Details]

Manns, M.P., Johnson, E.F., Griffin, K.J., Tan, E.M., and Sullivan, K.F. (1989) 'Major antigen of liver kidney microsomal autoantibodies in idiopathic autoimmune hepatitis is cytochrome P450db1'. J Clin Invest, 83 :1066-1072. [Details]

Ben-Chetrit, E., Gandy, B.J., Tan, E.M., and Sullivan, K.F. (1989) 'Isolation and characterization of a cDNA clone encoding the 60-kD component of the human SS-A/Ro ribonucleoprotein autoantigen'. J Clin Invest, 83 :1284-1292. [Details]

Huff, J.P., Roos, G., Peebles, C.L., Houghten, R., Sullivan, K.F., and Tan, E.M. (1990) 'Insights into native epitopes of proliferating cell nuclear antigen using recombinant DNA protein products'. J Exp Med, 172 :419-429. [Details]

Huff, J.P., Grant, B.J., Penning, C.A., and Sullivan, K.F. (1990) 'Optimization of routine transformation of Escherichia coli with plasmid DNA'. Biotechniques, 9 :570-572. [Details]

Manns, M., Zanger, U., Gerken, G., Sullivan, K.F., Meyer zum Buschenfelde, K.H., Meyer, U.A., and Eichelbaum, M. (1990) 'Patients with type II autoimmune hepatitis express functionally intact cytochrome P-450 db1 that is inhibited by LKM-1 autoantibodies in vitro but not in vivo'. Hepatology, 12 :127-132. [Details]

Pollard, K.M., Chan, E.K., Grant, B.J., Sullivan, K.F., Tan, E.M., and Glass, C.A. (1990) 'In vitro posttranslational modification of lamin B cloned from a human T-cell line'. Mol Cell Biol, 10 :2164-2175. [Details]

Manns, M.P., Griffin, K.J., Sullivan, K.F., and Johnson, E.F. (1991) 'LKM-1 autoantibodies recognize a short linear sequence in P450IID6, a cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase'. J Clin Invest, 88 :1370-1378. [Details]

Sullivan, K.F. and Glass, C.A. (1991) 'CENP-B is a highly conserved mammalian centromere protein with homology to the helix-loop-helix family of proteins'. Chromosoma 1, 100 :360-370. [Details]

Sullivan, K.F., Hechenberger, M., and Masri, K. (1994) 'Human CENP-A contains a histone H3 related histone fold domain that is required for targeting to the centromere'. J Cell Biol, 127 :581-592. [Details]

Sage, C.R., Davis, A.S., Dougherty, C.A., Sullivan, K., and Farrell, K.W. (1995) 'beta-Tubulin mutation suppresses microtubule dynamics in vitro and slows mitosis in vivo'. Cell Motil Cytoskeleton, 30 :285-300. [Details]

Shelby, R.D., Hahn, K.M. and Sullivan, K.F. (1996) 'Dynamic elastic behavior of a satellite DNA domains visualized in situ in living human cells'. J Cell Biol, 135 :545-557. [Details]

Sun, D., Martinez, A., Sullivan, K.F., Sharp, G.C., and Hoch, S.O. (1996) 'Detection of anticentromere antibodies using recombinant human CENP-A protein'. Arthritis Rheum, 39 :863-867. [Details]

Warburton, P.E., Cooke, C.A., Bourassa, S., Vafa, O., Sullivan, B.A., Stetten, G., Gimeli, G., Warburton, D., Tyler-Smith, C., Sullivan, K.F., Poirier, G.G. and Earnshaw, W.C. (1997) 'Immunolocalization of CENP-A suggests a distinct nucleosome structure at the inner kinetochore plate of active centromeres'. Curr Biol, 7 :901-904. [Details]

Vafa, O. and Sullivan, K.F. (1997) 'Chromatin containing CENP-A and a-satellite DNA is a major component of the inner kinetochore plate'. Curr Biol, 7 :897-900. [Details]

Shelby, R.D., Vafa, O., and Sullivan, K.F. (1997) 'Assembly of CENP-A into centromeric chromatin requires a cooperative array of nucleosomal DNA contact sites'. J Cell Biol, 136 :501-513. [Details]

Martinez, A., Sun, D., Billings, P.B., Swiderek, K.M., Sullivan, K.F., and Hoch S.O. (1998) 'Isolation and comparison of natural and recombinant human CENP-A autoantigen'. J Autoimmun, 11 :611-619. [Details]

Kanda, T., Sullivan, K.F., and Wahl, G.M. (1998) 'Histone-GFP fusion protein enables sensitive analysis of chromosome dynamics in living mammalian cells'. Curr Biol, 8 :377-385. [Details]

Sullivan, K.F. (1999) 'Enlightening mitosis: construction and expression of green fluorescent fusion proteins'. Methods Cell Biol, 61 :113-135. [Details]

Vafa, O., Shelby, R.D. and Sullivan, K.F. (1999) 'CENP-A associated complex satellite DNA in the kinetochore of the Indian muntjac'. Chromosoma, 108 :367-374. [Details]

Sullivan, K.F., and Shelby, R.D. (1999) 'Using time-lapse confocal microscopy for analysis of centromere dynamics in human cells'. Methods Cell Biol, 58 :183-202. [Details]

Yao X, Abrieu A, Zheng Y, Sullivan KF, Cleveland DW (2000) 'CENP-E forms a link between attachment of spindle microtubules to kinetochores and the mitotic checkpoint'. Nat Cell Biol, 2 (8):484-489. [Details]

Monier, K., Armas, J.C.G., Etteldorf, S., Ghazal, P and Sullivan, K.F. (2000) 'Annexation of the interchromosomal space during viral infection'. Nature Cell Biology, 2 :661-665. [Details]

Shelby, R.D., Monier, K. and Sullivan, K.F. (2000) 'Chromatin assembly at kinetochores is uncoupled from DNA replication'. J Cell Biol, 151 :1113-1118. [Details]

Yao, X., Arbeau, A., Zheng, Y, Sullivan, K.F. and Cleveland, D.W. (2000) 'CENP-E links bi-polar spindle microtubule attachment at kinetochores to the mitotic checkpoint'. Nature Cell Biology, 2 :484-491. [Details]

Van Hooser, A.A., Ouspenski, I.I., Gregson, H.C., Starr, D.A., Yen, T.J., Goldberg, M.L., Yokomori, K., Earnshaw, W.C., Sullivan, K.F., and Brinkley, B.R. (2001) 'Specification of kinetochore-forming chromatin by the histone H3 variant CENP-A'. J Cell Sci, 114 :3529-3542. [Details]

Zeitlin, S.G., Shelby, R.D. and Sullivan, K.F. (2001) 'CENP-A is phosphorylated by Aurora B kinase and plays an unexpected role in completion of cytokinesis'. J Cell Biol, 155 :1147-1158. [Details]

Sadoni N, Sullivan KF, Weinzierl P, Stelzer EH, Zink D. (2001) 'Large-scale chromatin fibers of living cells display a discontinuous functional organization'. Chromosoma, 110 :39-51. [Details]

Zeitlin, S.G., Barber, C.M., Allis, C.D. and Sullivan, K.F. (2001) 'Differential regulation of CENP-A and histone H3 phosphorylation in G2/M'. J Cell Science, 114 :653-661. [Details]

Zeitlin, S.G., Monier, K. & Sullivan, K.F. (2001) 'Phospho-histone antibody immunofluorescence for analysis of cell cycle progression in G2 and prophase'. Chemtracts Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 14 :557-562. [Details]

Lomonte P, Sullivan KF, Everett RD. (2001) 'Degradation of nucleosome-associated centromeric histone H3-like protein CENP-A induced by herpes simplex virus type 1 protein ICP0'. J Biol Chem, 276 :5829-5835. [Details]

Kelling J, Sullivan K, Wilson L, Jordan MA. (2003) 'Suppression of centromere dynamics by Taxol in living osteosarcoma cells'. Cancer Res, 63 :2794-2801. [Details]

Monier K, Mouradian S, Sullivan KF. (2007) 'DNA methylation promotes Aurora-B-driven phosphorylation of histone H3 in chromosomal subdomains'. J Cell Sci, 120 :101-114. [Details]

Prendergast L, Sullivan KF. (2010) 'A GTPase switch maintains CENP-A at centromeric chromatin'. Nat Cell Biol, 12 (12):1128-1130. [DOI] [Details]

                                                                                                             

Reviews

Zeitlin SG, Sullivan KF. (2001) Animal cytokinesis: breaking up is hard to do. Curr Biol. Reviews [Details]

Sullivan KF (2001) A solid foundation: functional specialization of centromeric chromatin. Curr Opin Genet Dev. Reviews [Details]

Cleveland DW, Mao Y, Sullivan KF. (2003) Centromeres and kinetochores: from epigenetics to mitotic checkpoint signaling. Cell. Reviews [Details]

Hou AH, Sullivan KF, Crawford ED. (2009) Targeted focal therapy for prostate cancer: a review. Curr Opin Urol. Reviews [Details]

Glynn M, Kaczmarczyk A, Prendergast L, Quinn N, Sullivan KF. (2010) Centromeres: assembling and propagating epigenetic function. Subcell Biochem. Reviews [Details]