Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.6.4.4 (kinesin)
 5,033 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Biological and engineered motors are surprisingly similar in their adherence to two or possibly three fundamental regimes for the mass scaling of maximum force output (Fmax). One scaling regime (Group 1: myosin, kinesin, dynein and RNA polymerase molecules; muscle cells; whole muscles; winches; linear actuators) comprises motors that create slow translational motion with force outputs limited by the axial stress capacity of the motor, which results in Fmax scaling as motor mass0.67 (M0.67). Another scaling regime (Group 2: flying birds, bats and insects; swimming fish; running animals; piston engines; electric motors; jets) comprises motors that cycle rapidly, with significant internal and external accelerations, and for whom inertia and fatigue life appear to be important constraints. The scaling of inertial loads and fatigue life both appear to enforce Fmax scaling as M1.0 in these motors. Despite great differences in materials and mechanisms, the mass specific Fmax of Group 2 motors clusters tightly around a mean of 57 N kg(-1), a region of specific force loading where there appears to be a common transition from high- to low-cycle fatigue. For motors subject to multi-axial stresses, the steepness of the load-life curve in the neighborhood of 50-100 N kg(-1) may overwhelm other material and mechanistic factors, thereby homogenizing the mass specific Fmax of grossly dissimilar animals and machines. Rockets scale with Group 1 motors but for different mechanistic reasons; they are free from fatigue constraints and their thrust is determined by mass flow rates that depend on cross sectional area of the exit nozzle. There is possibly a third scaling regime of Fmax for small motors (bacterial and spermatazoan flagella; a protozoan spring) where viscosity dominates over inertia. Data for force output of viscous regime motors are scarce, but the few data available suggest a gradually increasing scaling slope that converges with the Group 2 scaling relationship at a Reynolds number of about 10(2). The Group 1 and Group 2 scaling relationships intersect at a motor mass of 4400 kg, which restricts the force output and design of Group 2 motors greater than this mass. Above 4400 kg, all motors are limited by stress and have Fmax that scales as M0.67; this results in a gradual decline in mass specific Fmax at motor mass greater than 4400 kg. Because of declining mass specific Fmax, there is little or no potential for biological or engineered motors or rockets larger than those already in use.
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PMID:Scaling of maximum net force output by motors used for locomotion. 1585 97

Cytoskeletal filaments and motor proteins are critical components in the transport and reorganization of membrane-based organelles in eukaryotic cells. Previous studies have recapitulated the microtubule-kinesin transport system in vitro to dynamically assemble large-scale nanotube networks from multilamellar liposomes and polymersomes. Moving toward more biologically relevant systems, the present work examines whether lipid nanotube (LNT) networks can be generated from giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) and subsequently characterizes how the lipid composition may be tuned to alter the dynamics, structure, and fluidity of networks. Here, we describe a two-step process in which microtubule motility (i) drives the transport and aggregation of GUVs to form structures with a decreased energy barrier for LNT formation and (ii) extrudes LNTs without destroying parent GUVs, allowing for the formation of large LNT networks. We further show that the lipid composition of the GUV influences formation and morphology of the extruded LNTs and associated networks. For example, LNTs formed from phase-separated GUVs (e.g., liquid-solid phase-separated and coexisting liquid-ordered and liquid-disordered phase-separated) display morphologies related to the specific phase behavior reflective of the parent GUVs. Overall, the ability to form nanotubes from compositionally complex vesicles opens the door to generating lipid networks that more closely mimic the structure and function of those found in cellular systems.
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PMID:Multicomponent and Multiphase Lipid Nanotubes Formed by Gliding Microtubule-Kinesin Motility and Phase-Separated Giant Unilamellar Vesicles. 3173 Mar 50