YB-1 promotes microtubule assembly in vitro through interaction with tubulin and microtubules.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Chernov KG
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2557009 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Posttranslational modifications (PTMs) on microtubules differentiate these cytoskeletal elements for a variety of cellular functions. We recently identified SETD2 as a dual-function histone and microtubule methyltransferase, and methylation as a new microtubule PTM that occurs on lysine 40 of ?-tubulin, which is trimethylated (?-TubK40me3) by SETD2. In the course of these studies, we generated polyclonal (?-TubK40me3 pAb) and monoclonal (?-TubK40me3 mAb) antibodies to a methylated ?-tubulin peptide (GQMPSD-Kme3-TIGGGDC). Here, we characterize these antibodies, and the specific mono-, di- or tri-methylated lysine residues they recognize. While both the pAb and mAb antibodies recognized lysines methylated by SETD2 on microtubules and histones, the clone 18 mAb was more specific for methylated microtubules, with little cross-reactivity for methylated histones. The clone 18 mAb recognized specific subsets of microtubules during mitosis and cytokinesis, and lacked the chromatin staining seen by immunocytochemistry with the pAb. Western blot analysis using these antibodies revealed that methylated ?-tubulin migrated faster than unmethylated ?-tubulin, suggesting methylation may be a signal for additional processing of ?-tubulin and/or microtubules. As the first reagents that specifically recognize methylated ?-tubulin, these antibodies are a valuable tool for studying this new modification of the cytoskeleton, and the function of methylated microtubules.
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Project description:The main structural components of microtubules are alpha- and beta-tubulins. A group of proteins called cofactors are crucial in the formation of assembly-competent tubulin molecules in vitro. Whilst an in vitro role is emerging for these cofactors, their biological functions in vivo remain to be established. In order to understand the fundamental mechanisms that determine cell polarity, we have screened for fission yeast mutants with altered polarity. Here we show that alp1+ encodes a homologue of cofactor D and executes a function essential for cell viability. A temperature-sensitive alp1 mutant shows a variety of defects including abnormal mitoses, loss of microtubule structures, displacement of the nucleus, altered growth polarity and asymmetrical cell division. Overexpression of Alp1 is lethal in wild-type cells, resulting in altered cell shape, but is rescued by co-overexpression of beta-tubulin. Alp1 co-localizes with microtubules, both interphase arrays and mitotic spindles. Furthermore, Alp1 binds to and co-sediments with taxol (paclitaxel)-stabilized porcine microtubules. Our results suggest that, in addition to a function in the folding of beta-tubulin, cofactor D may play a vital role in microtubule-dependent processes as a microtubule-associated protein.
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Project description:Besides sliding apart antiparallel microtubules during spindle elongation, the mitotic kinesin-5, Eg5, promotes microtubule polymerization, emphasizing its importance in mitotic spindle length control. Here, we characterize the Eg5 microtubule polymerase mechanism by assessing motor-induced changes in the longitudinal and lateral tubulin-tubulin bonds that form the microtubule lattice. Isolated Eg5 motor domains promote microtubule nucleation, growth, and stability; thus, crosslinking tubulin by pairs of motor heads is not necessary for polymerase activity. Eg5 binds preferentially to microtubules over free tubulin, which contrasts with microtubule-depolymerizing kinesins that preferentially bind free tubulin over microtubules. Colchicine-like inhibitors that stabilize the bent conformation of tubulin allosterically inhibit Eg5 binding, consistent with a model in which Eg5 induces a curved-to-straight transition in tubulin. Domain swap experiments establish that the family-specific loop11-helix 4 junction, which resides near the nucleotide-sensing switch-II domain, is necessary and sufficient for the polymerase activity of Eg5. Thus, we propose a microtubule polymerase mechanism in which Eg5 at the plus-end promotes a curved-to-straight transition in tubulin that enhances lateral bond formation and thereby promotes microtubule growth and stability. One implication is that regulation of Eg5 motile properties by regulatory proteins or small molecule inhibitors could also have effects on intracellular microtubule dynamics.
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Project description:The characteristics of the carbamoylation of pig brain tubulin were examined by using the modification conditions with cyanate described previously [Mellado, Slebe + Maccioni (1980) Biochem. Int. I, 584--590]. The carbamoylation reaction resulted in an inhibition of microtubule assembly, which was dependent on the concentration of the modifying agent. This tubulin modification appears to inhibit the growth of microtubules. The presence of GTP did not protect tubulin against this inhibition. Electron microscopy showed a marked decrease in the number of tubules after carbamoylation, but no alterations were observed in the microtubule morphology. The incorporation of KN14CO into alpha- and beta-subunits with similar kinetics was also shown, and the carbamoylated residues were identified as epsilon-N-carbamoyl-lysine residues.
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Project description:Spatial regulation of microtubule (MT) dynamics contributes to cell polarity and cell division. MT rescue, in which a MT stops shrinking and reinitiates growth, is the least understood aspect of MT dynamics. Cytoplasmic Linker Associated Proteins (CLASPs) are a conserved class of MT-associated proteins that contribute to MT stabilization and rescue in vivo. We show here that the Schizosaccharomyces pombe CLASP, Cls1p, is a homodimer that binds an alphabeta-tubulin heterodimer through conserved TOG-like domains. In vitro, CLASP increases MT rescue frequency, decreases MT catastrophe frequency, and moderately decreases MT disassembly rate. CLASP binds stably to the MT lattice, recruits tubulin, and locally promotes rescues. Mutations in the CLASP TOG domains demonstrate that tubulin binding is critical for its rescue activity. We propose a mechanism for rescue in which CLASP-tubulin dimer complexes bind along the MT lattice and reverse MT depolymerization with their bound tubulin dimer.
| S-EPMC3156696 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The atomic structure of tubulin in a polymerized, straight protofilament is clearly distinct from that in a curved conformation bound to a cellular depolymerizer. The nucleotide contents are identical, and in both cases the conformation of the GTP-containing, intra-dimer interface is indistinguishable from the GDP-containing, inter-dimer contact. Here we present two structures corresponding to the start and end points in the microtubule polymerization and hydrolysis cycles that illustrate the consequences of nucleotide state on longitudinal and lateral assembly. In the absence of depolymerizers, GDP-bound tubulin shows distinctive intra-dimer and inter-dimer interactions and thus distinguishes the GTP and GDP interfaces. A cold-stable tubulin polymer with the non-hydrolysable GTP analogue GMPCPP, containing semi-conserved lateral interactions, supports a model in which the straightening of longitudinal interfaces happens sequentially, starting with a conformational change after GTP binding that straightens the dimer enough for the formation of lateral contacts into a non-tubular intermediate. Closure into a microtubule does not require GTP hydrolysis.
| S-EPMC1386036 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Microtubules are cytoskeletal components involved in pivotal eukaryotic functions such as cell division, ciliogenesis, and intracellular trafficking. They assemble from ??-tubulin heterodimers and disassemble in a process called dynamic instability, which is driven by GTP hydrolysis. Structures of the microtubule and of soluble tubulin have been determined by cryo-EM and by X-ray crystallography, respectively. Altogether, these data define the mechanism of tubulin assembly-disassembly at atomic or near-atomic level. We review here the structural changes that occur during assembly, tubulin switching from a curved conformation in solution to a straight one in the microtubule core. We also present more subtle changes associated with GTP binding, leading to tubulin activation for assembly. Finally, we show how cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography are complementary methods to characterize the interaction of tubulin with proteins involved either in intracellular transport or in microtubule dynamics regulation.
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Project description:Protein phosphatase (PP) 2A1, a trimer composed of A-, B- and C-subunits in the PP2A family, has been regarded as a principal form localizing at microtubules (MT), but PP2A2, the dimer of A- and C-subunits, has not. Substantiating the claim, the present work shows that the PP2A1 but not PP2A2, both isolated from bovine extract, largely associated with the purified preparation of MT. Furthermore, PP2A1 was found to bind purifiedtubulin polymerized by taxol. The presence of MT associated proteins with purified tubulin hardly affected the binding of PP2A1 to the tubulin. In addition, PP2A1 activity towards glycogen phosphorylase, a probably unphysiological but good substrate, was similarly inhibited by MT proteins and purified tubulin, which accounts for > or =85% of MT proteins, with their IC(50) of about 0.15 mg/ml. In contrast, the inhibition of PP2A2 was about 40% with 1 mg/ml MT proteins and 20% with 0.8 mg/ml tubulin, consistent with its weak association with MT. Therefore, the association with and resultant inhibition by MT proteins of PP2A1 is largely effected by the binding of PP2A1 to tubulin molecule. Moreover, PP2A1 isolated from MT has higher affinity for polymerized MT proteins than has PP2A1 from the postmicrotubule supernatant. The MT PP2A1 has also higher sensitivity to the inhibition by tubulin and MT proteins than has the supernatant PP2A1 (IC(50): 0.1-0.2 mg/ml vs. 0.3-0.6 mg/ml), demonstrating the importance of its association with polymerized tubulin.
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Project description:Nod, a nonmotile kinesin-like protein, plays a critical role in segregating achiasmate chromosomes during female meiosis. In addition to localizing to oocyte chromosomes, we show that functional full-length Nod-GFP (Nod(FL)-GFP) localizes to the posterior pole of the oocyte at stages 9-10A, as does kinesin heavy chain (KHC), a plus end-directed motor. This posterior localization is abolished in grk mutants that no longer maintain the microtubule (MT) gradient in the oocyte. To test the hypothesis that Nod binds to the plus ends of MTs, we expressed and purified both full-length Nod (Nod(FL)) and a truncated form of Nod containing only the motor-like domain (Nod318) from Escherichia coli and assessed their interactions with MTs in vitro. Both Nod(FL) and Nod318 demonstrate preferential binding to the ends of the MTs, displaying a strong preference for binding to the plus ends. When Nod318-GFP:MT collision complexes were trapped by glutaraldehyde fixation, the preference for binding to plus ends versus minus ends was 17:1. Nod(FL) and Nod318 also promote MT polymerization in vitro in a time-dependent manner. The observation that Nod is preferentially localized to the plus ends of MTs and stimulates MT polymerization suggests a mechanism for its function.
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Project description:How temperature specifically affects microtubule dynamics and how these lead to changes in microtubule networks in cells have not been established. We investigated these questions in budding yeast, an organism found in diverse environments and therefore predicted to exhibit dynamic microtubules across a broad temperature range. We measured the dynamics of GFP-labeled microtubules in living cells and found that lowering temperature from 37°C to 10°C decreased the rates of both polymerization and depolymerization, decreased the amount of polymer assembled before catastrophes, and decreased the frequency of microtubule emergence from nucleation sites. Lowering to 4°C caused rapid loss of almost all microtubule polymer. We provide evidence that these effects on microtubule dynamics may be explained in part by changes in the cofactor-dependent conformational dynamics of tubulin proteins. Ablation of tubulin-binding cofactors (TBCs) further sensitizes cells and their microtubules to low temperatures, and we highlight a specific role for TBCB/Alf1 in microtubule maintenance at low temperatures. Finally, we show that inhibiting the maturation cycle of tubulin by using a point mutant in ?-tubulin confers hyperstable microtubules at low temperatures and rescues the requirement for TBCB/Alf1 in maintaining microtubule polymer at low temperatures. Together, these results reveal an unappreciated step in the tubulin cycle.
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