In eukaryotic cells, mitosis is initiated following the activation of a protein kinase known variously as maturation-promoting factor, M phase specific histone kinase or M-phase kinase. This protein kinase is composed of a catalytic subunit (Cdc2), a regulatory subunit (cyclin B) and a low molecular weight subunit (p13-Suc1). The Cdc/cyclin enzyme is subject to multiple levels of control, of which the regulation of the catalytic subunit by tyrosine phosphorylation is the best understood. Tyrosine phosphorylation inhibits the Cdc2/ cyclin B enzyme, and tyrosine dephosphorylation, occurring at the onset of mitosis, directly activates the pre-MPF complex. Evidence has established that B type cyclins not only act on M phase regulatory subunits of the Cdc2 protein kinase, but also activate the Cdc25A and Cdc25B endogenous tyrosine phosphatase, of which Cdc2 is the physiological substrate. The two B type cyclins, cyclin B1 and cyclin B2, have been shown to have distinct tissue distributions.
