Cell-cycle-regulated expression of STIL controls centriole number in human cells

Control of centriole number is crucial for genome stability and ciliogenesis. Here, we characterize the role of human STIL, a protein that displays distant sequence similarity to the centriole duplication factors Ana2 in Drosophila and SAS-5 in Caenorhabditis elegans. Using RNA interference, we show that STIL is required for centriole duplication in human cells. Conversely, overexpression of STIL triggers the near-simultaneous formation of multiple daughter centrioles surrounding each mother, which is highly reminiscent of the phenotype produced by overexpression of the polo-like kinase PLK4 or the spindle assembly abnormal protein 6 homolog (SAS-6). We further show, by fluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy, that STIL is recruited to nascent daughter centrioles at the onset of centriole duplication and degraded, in an APC/C(Cdc20-Cdh1)-dependent manner, upon passage through mitosis. We did not detect a stable complex between STIL and SAS-6, but the two proteins resemble each other with regard to both localization and cell cycle control of expression. Thus, STIL cooperates with SAS-6 and PLK4 in the control of centriole number and represents a key centriole duplication factor in human cells.