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

We describe a general strategy for cloning mammalian genes whose downregulation results in a selectable phenotype. This strategy is based on expression selection of genetic suppressor elements (GSEs), cDNA fragments encoding either specific peptides that act as dominant inhibitors of protein function or antisense RNA segments that efficiently inhibit gene expression. Since GSEs counteract the gene from which they are derived, they can be used as dominant selectable markers for the phenotype associated with downregulation of the corresponding gene. A retroviral library containing random fragments of normalized (uniform abundance) cDNA expressed in mouse NIH 3T3 cells was used to select for GSEs inducing resistance to the anticancer drug etoposide. Three GSEs were isolated, two of which are derived from unknown genes and the third encodes antisense RNA for the heavy chain of a motor protein kinesin. The kinesin-derived GSE induces resistance to several DNA-damaging drugs and immortalizes senescent mouse embryo fibroblasts, indicating that kinesin is involved in the mechanisms of drug sensitivity and in vitro senescence. Expression of the human kinesin heavy-chain gene was decreased in four of four etoposide-resistant HeLa cell lines, derived by conventional drug selection, indicating that downregulation of kinesin represents a natural mechanism of drug resistance in mammalian cells.
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PMID:Cloning mammalian genes by expression selection of genetic suppressor elements: association of kinesin with drug resistance and cell immortalization. 817 Sep 81

Kinesin is a motor protein that uses the energy derived from ATP hydrolysis to transport organelles along microtubules. By analyzing the thermal fluctuation of microtubules tethered to glass surfaces by single molecules of kinesin, we have measured the torsional flexibility of the motor protein. The torsional stiffness of kinesin, (117 +/- 19) x 10(-24) N.m.rad-1 (mean +/- SEM), is so low that one kT of energy (approximately 4.1 x 10(-21) J at room temperature) is sufficient to twist a kinesin molecule through more than 360 degrees from its resting orientation. Consistent with this flexibility, motility assays show that one or more kinesin molecules can move a microtubule equally well in any direction. These results explain how a motor on the surface of an organelle can rapidly bind to and capture a microtubule irrespective of the organelle's orientation. Furthermore, the flexibility ensures that several motors can efficiently work together even though they are randomly oriented on the surface of an organelle rather than being in precise arrays like the motors of muscle and cilia.
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PMID:Kinesin swivels to permit microtubule movement in any direction. 826 3

We previously reported the presence of a new gene (HSET) with an unknown function, in the centromeric side of the class II gene region of the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC). cDNA clones corresponding to the HSET gene were isolated from a human testis cDNA library. A 2.4 kilobase transcript from the HSET gene was abundantly expressed in testis, B-cell, T-cell, and ovary cell lines but was not detected in lung or stomach. Analysis of the nucleotide sequence of the HSET cDNA clones revealed significant similarity to kinesin-related proteins in yeast, Drosophila, and human. Its predicted amino acid sequence contains a domain with strong sequence similarity to the ATP-binding and motor domains of a plus end-directed microtubule motor protein, kinesin, which might be involved in mitotic chromosome segregation, suggesting that the HSET gene encodes a novel kinesin-related protein.
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PMID:Cloning of a new kinesin-related gene located at the centromeric end of the human MHC region. 827 66

The nonclaret disjunctional (ncd) protein is a kinesin-related microtubule motor protein that is encoded at the claret locus in Drosophila and is required for proper chromosome distribution in meiosis and early mitosis. The protein contains a region with 41% amino acid sequence identity to kinesin heavy chain, but translocates on microtubules with the opposite polarity to kinesin, toward microtubule minus ends. The overall structure of ncd also differs from kinesin heavy chain, in that the proposed motor domain is present at the C terminus of the molecule instead of the N terminus, as in kinesin heavy chain. In studies to define the molecular determinants of ncd function, we constructed and expressed a protein with a deletion of the N-terminal 208 amino acids of the non-motor region. Analysis of the truncated protein shows that the protein exhibits microtubule-stimulated Mg(2+)-ATPase activity and binds microtubules in pelleting assays. In contrast to near full-length ncd, the truncated protein does not support directional movement of microtubules in in vitro motility assays. Instead, microtubules show nucleotide-sensitive binding to the truncated protein on glass surfaces and bound microtubules exhibit one-dimensional diffusional movement that is constrained to their longitudinal axis. The diffusional movement reveals a weak binding state of the ncd motor that may represent a mechanochemical intermediate in its ATP hydrolysis cycle. If diffusional movement is a characteristic intrinsic to the claret motor, it is likely to be important in the in vivo function of the protein.
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PMID:An N-terminal truncation of the ncd motor protein supports diffusional movement of microtubules in motility assays. 831 80

Kinesin is a cytoplasmic motor protein that moves along microtubules and can induce microtubule bundling and sliding in vitro. To determine how kinesin mediates microtubule interactions, we determined the shapes and mass distributions of squid brain kinesin, taxol-stabilized microtubules (squid and bovine), and adenosine 5'-[beta, gamma-imido]triphosphate-stabilized kinesin-microtubule complexes by high-resolution metal replication and by low-temperature, low-dose dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy of unfixed, directly frozen preparations. Mass mapping by electron microscopy revealed kinesins loosely attached to the carbon support as asymmetrical dumbbell-shaped molecules, 40-52 nm long, with a mass of 379 +/- 15 kDa. The mass distribution and shape of these molecules suggest that these images represent kinesin in a shortened conformation. Kinesin-microtubule complexes were organized as bundles of linearly arrayed microtubules, stitched together at irregular intervals by cross-bridges typically < or = 25 nm long. The crossbridges had a mass of 360 +/- 15 kDa, consistent with one kinesin per crossbridge. These results suggest that kinesin has a second microtubule binding site in addition to the known site on the motor domain of the heavy chain; this second site may be located near the C terminus of the heavy chains or on the associated light chains. Thus, kinesin could play a role in either crosslinking or sliding microtubules.
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PMID:Single kinesin molecules crossbridge microtubules in vitro. 834 62

Kinesin is an ubiquitous heterotetrameric microtubule-based motor which translocates membrane-bound organelles. Since organelle motility and motor protein function can be regulated by components of signaling pathways, the ability of purified bovine brain kinesin (kinesin) to be phosphorylated and to recognize calmodulin (CaM) was tested. Extensively purified "kinesin" was found to consist of several forms of both heavy (KHC) and light (KLC) chains. Phosphorylation of kinesin by a variety of protein kinases was examined; cAMP-dependent protein kinase (cAMP-PK) was the most active enzyme leading to the incorporation of up to 8 mol P/mol kinesin. Phosphorylation occurred predominantly on the KLCs and led to substantial acidic pI shifts. Peptide maps indicated that multiple phosphorylation sites exist on each KLC. Incubation of kinesin in vitro with protein kinase C (PKC) led to the phosphorylation of both KHCs and KLCs. In vivo phosphorylation of KHC and KLCs was demonstrated by immunoprecipitation of [32P]-labeled kinesin from cultured rat hippocampal pyramidal neurons; kinesin phosphorylation was stimulated by 8-chlorophenyl-thio-cAMP or 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. Native bovine brain kinesin was shown to bind 125I-CaM by nucleotide-dependent pelleting with stable microtubules. Specific calcium-dependent binding of 125I-CaM to KLCs but not KHC was found using a ligand blotting assay. cAMP-PK phosphorylated kinesin bound 125I-CaM less well than untreated protein in both ligand blotting and microtubule-pelleting paradigms. Calcium-dependent binding of CaM to kinesin inhibited the ATPase activity of native kinesin but not of cAMP-PK phosphorylated kinesin. These results suggest that the KLCs have a regulatory function and integrate information coming from diverse signaling pathways to modulate the activity and function of kinesin.
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PMID:Calmodulin binding to and cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of kinesin light chains modulate kinesin ATPase activity. 838 85

Do biological motors move with regular steps? To address this question, we constructed instrumentation with the spatial and temporal sensitivity to resolve movement on a molecular scale. We deposited silica beads carrying single molecules of the motor protein kinesin on microtubules using optical tweezers and analysed their motion under controlled loads by interferometry. We find that kinesin moves with 8-nm steps.
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PMID:Direct observation of kinesin stepping by optical trapping interferometry. 841 46

Nonclaret disjunctional (ncd) is a kinesin-related microtubule motor protein that is required for proper chromosome distribution in Drosophila. Despite its sequence similarity to kinesin heavy chain, ncd translocates with the opposite polarity as kinesin, toward microtubule minus ends. We have expressed different regions of the protein in bacteria and analyzed the proteins for function. Results indicate that ncd consists of three domains: a basic, proline-rich N-terminal "tail," a central alpha-helical coiled-coil stalk, and a C-terminal motor domain. The ncd N terminus proteins bundle microtubules in motility assays and show ATP-independent binding to microtubules in solution. Truncated proteins, lacking the tail but containing the predicted motor domain and differing lengths of the stalk, did not support microtubule gliding in in vitro assays but showed microtubule-stimulated MgATPase activity in solution. Addition of a nonspecific N terminus to two of the truncated proteins restored directional gliding and rotation of microtubules in motility assays, demonstrating that these properties map to the predicted mechanochemical domain of ncd. Physical properties of the C terminus proteins indicate that the stalk region is important for dimerization and that the ncd protein probably exists and functions as a dimer.
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PMID:Structural and functional domains of the Drosophila ncd microtubule motor protein. 847 43

Neuronal function is dependent on the transport of materials from the cell body to the synapse via anterograde axonal transport. Anterograde axonal transport consists of several components that differ in both rate and protein composition. In fast transport, membranous organelles are moved along microtubules by the motor protein kinesin. The cytoskeleton and the cytomatrix proteins move in the two components of slow transport. While the mechanisms underlying slow transport are unknown, it has been hypothesized that the movement of microtubules in slow transport is generated by sliding. To determine whether dynein, a motor protein that causes microtubule sliding in flagella, may play a role in slow axonal transport, we identified the transport rate components with which cytoplasmic dynein is associated in rat optic nerve. Nearly 80% of the anterogradely moving dynein was associated with slow transport, whereas only approximately 15% of the dynein was associated with the membranous organelles of anterograde fast axonal transport. A segmental analysis of the transport of dynein through contiguous regions of the optic nerve and tract showed that dynein is associated with the microfilaments and other proteins of slow component b. Dynein from this transport component has the capacity to bind microtubules in vitro. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that cytoplasmic dynein generates the movement of microtubules in slow axonal transport. A model is presented to illustrate how dynein attached to the slow component b complex of proteins is appropriately positioned to generate force of the correct polarity to slide microtubules down the axon.
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PMID:Cytoplasmic dynein is associated with slow axonal transport. 855 92

We show that microtubule polymers can be immobilized selectively on lithographically patterned silane surfaces while retaining their native properties. Silane films were chemisorbed on polished silicon wafers or glass coverslips and patterned using a deep UV lithographic process developed at the Naval Research Laboratory. Hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon alkyl silanes, as well as amino and thiol terminal alkyl silanes, were investigated as substrates for microtubule adhesion with retention of biological activity. Microtubules were found to adhere strongly to amine terminal silanes while retaining the ability to act as substrates for the molecular motor protein kinesin. Aminosilane patterns with linewidths varying from 1 to 50 microns were produced lithographically and used to produce patterns of selectively adhered microtubules. Microtubules were partially aligned on the patterned lines by performing the immobilization in a fluid flow field. Patterns were imaged with atomic force microscopy and differential interference contrast microscopy. Motility assays were carried out using kinesin-coated beads and observed with differential interference contrast microscopy. Kinesin bead movement on the patterned microtubules was comparable to movement on microtubule control surfaces.
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PMID:Selective adhesion of functional microtubules to patterned silane surfaces. 859 84


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