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)

Previously, we reported that the squid giant axon contains a heterogeneous population of mRNAs that includes beta-actin, beta-tubulin, kinesin, neurofilament proteins, and enolase. To define the absolute levels and relative distribution of these mRNAs, we have used competitive reverse transcription-PCR to quantify the levels of five mRNAs present in the giant axon and giant fiber lobe (GFL), the location of the parental cell soma. In the GFL, the number of transcripts for these mRNAs varied over a fourfold range, with beta-tubulin being the most abundant mRNA species (1.25 x 10(9) molecules per GFL). Based on transcript number, the rank order of mRNA levels in the GFL was beta-tubulin > beta-actin > kinesin > enolase > microtubule-associated protein (MAP) H1. In contrast, kinesin mRNA was most abundant in the axon (4.1 x 10(7) molecules per axon) with individual mRNA levels varying 15-fold. The rank order of mRNA levels in the axon was kinesin > beta-tubulin > MAP H1 > beta-actin > enolase. The relative abundance of the mRNA species in the axon did not correlate with the size of the transcript, nor was it directly related to their corresponding levels in the GFL. Taken together, these findings confirm that significant amounts of mRNA are present in the giant axon and suggest that specific mRNAs are differentially transported into the axonal domain.
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PMID:Differential compartmentalization of mRNAs in squid giant axon. 886 84

The study of microtubules always manages to surprise and fascinate us, and it has done so yet again over the past year as significant progress has been made in the areas of microtubule nucleation, growth and structural polarity. Microtubule nucleation has been the subject of publications that show the involvement of gamma-tubulin-containing complexes as nucleating templates in the microtubule-organizing centre. It is unclear how this nucleation is compatible with microtubule growth, which appears to take place by an unusual, and perhaps unique, process involving sheet-like extensions that continuously close into tubes as growth proceeds. The related, and longstanding, problem is that of the relationship between tubulin dimer structure and microtubule polarity. This problem appears to be solved. A number of approaches have converged to suggest that the tubulin dimer is organized with beta-tubulin pointing towards the microtubule fast-growing plus end and with alpha-tubulin towards the minus end. Specific decoration with kinesin monomers shows that all microtubules examined to date are basically organized as B-lattices.
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PMID:Microtubule structure and dynamics. 901 74

Kinesin is a mechanoenzyme that couples adenosine triphosphate hydrolysis to the generation of force and movement along microtubules. To gain insight into the interactions of kinesin and microtubules, cross-linking, mapping, and proteolysis experiments were executed. The motor domain of kinesin was consistently cross-linked to both alpha- and beta-tubulin subunits. Initial mapping of the cross-linked kinesin suggested that amino acids within the N- and C-terminal cyanogen bromide fragments of the motor domain formed cross-links to both alpha- and beta-tubulin subunits. Mapping of the cross-linked tubulin suggested that cross-linking to kinesin motors occurred within the negatively charged, C-terminal cyanogen bromide fragments of alpha- and beta-tubulin subunits. Treatment of microtubules with subtilisin, a protease that cleaves C-terminal fragments from alpha- and beta-tubulin, reduced their ability to be cross-linked to kinesin motors supporting the idea that C-terminal sequences of alpha- and beta-tubulin may interact with kinesin motors. Finally, of three synthetic peptides, a peptide consisting of the last 12 C-terminal amino acids of beta-tubulin competitively interfered with the microtubule-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase activity of the kinesin motor, further suggesting that C-terminal sequences of beta-tubulin may be involved in kinesin binding.
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PMID:Probing the kinesin-microtubule interaction. 908 88

The kinesin-related protein (HSET) gene belongs to the kinesin superfamily, the members of which are involved in cellular transport processes. The HSET gene product was previously characterized by partial cDNA sequencing. The gene is located on the short arm of human Chromosome 6 (6p21.3), at the centromeric end of the major histocompatibility complex. Here, we report the genomic structure of the complete HSET gene together with its flanking loci. Sequence analysis of the 40 kilobase (kb) cosmid clone containing the HSET gene also revealed the presence of several new genes not related to the kinesin superfamily. These include a 60S ribosomal protein L35A-like pseudogene (rPL35A-like) on the telomeric side and a polycomb-like gene (PHF1), a copper tolerance-like gene (CUTA1) and the 5' part of the synaptic ras-GTPase-activating protein (SynGAP) gene centromeric of HSET. In addition, a complete 60S ribosomal protein L12-like (rPL12L) gene in intron 3 of the HSET gene was identified which appears to have an open reading frame. The possible involvement of the HSET gene and a beta-tubulin gene (TUBB) in the pathogenesis of immotile cilia syndrome (ICS) was studied by screening two unrelated ICS families with microtubular defects and suspected HLA linkage for mutations within the HSET gene and the TUBB gene. Four single base substitutions were detected in the HSET gene, and none in the TUBB gene. On the basis of these data, a role of the HSET and TUBB products in the pathogenesis of ICS in the two families is unlikely.
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PMID:Genomic organization of the HSET locus and the possible association of HLA-linked genes with immotile cilia syndrome (ICS). 1036 22

The distribution of the major cytoskeletal components in frontal cryosections of the hippocampal formation of adult male tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri) was immunohistochemically investigated by using commercially available antibodies. Actin-immunolabeling was evident in all layers of the dentate gyrus as well as in the regio superior (CA1) and the regio inferior (CA3). Neurofilament 160 was detected only in the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus and in the axons of the granule cells (mossy fibers). For beta-tubulin, the microtubule associated proteins (MAPs) MAP2AB, MAP2ABC and Tau, immunoreactivity was evident within the granule cells and within the somatodendritic compartment of pyramidal neurons. Granule cells and the somata of the pyramidal neurons were intensely labeled for kinesin. Our findings show the elaborate expression of cytoskeletal proteins in the hippocampal formation of the tree shrew, relatively similar to what is seen in other species but with also some important differences, such as the immunonegativity of the axonal compartment for Tau in the tree shrew, which is contrary to what we see in the mouse (unpublished data). These findings provide useful insights regarding the organization of the hippocampal formation of the tree shrew and are fundamental for further research in this field.
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PMID:Mapping of cytoskeletal components in the hippocampal formation of the tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri). 1058 59

Cephalopod retinas exhibit several responses to light and dark adaptation, including rhabdom size changes, photopigment movements, and pigment granule migration. Light- and dark-directed rearrangements of microfilament and microtubule cytoskeletal transport pathways could drive these changes. Recently, we localized actin-binding proteins in light-/dark-adapted octopus rhabdoms and suggested that actin cytoskeletal rearrangements bring about the formation and degradation of rhabdomere microvilli subsets. To determine if the microtubule cytoskeleton and associated motor proteins control the other light/dark changes, we used immunoblotting and immunocytochemical procedures to map the distribution of tubulin, kinesin, and dynein in dorsal and ventral halves of light- and dark-adapted octopus retinas. Immunoblots detected alpha- and beta-tubulin, dynein intermediate chain, and kinesin heavy chain in extracts of whole retinas. Epifluorescence and confocal microscopy showed that the tubulin proteins were distributed throughout the retina with more immunoreactivity in retinas exposed to light. Kinesin localization was heavy in the pigment layer of light- and dark-adapted ventral retinas but was less prominent in the dorsal region. Dynein distribution also varied in dorsal and ventral retinas with more immunoreactivity in light- and dark-adapted ventral retinas and confocal microscopy emphasized the granular nature of this labeling. We suggest that light may regulate the distribution of microtubule cytoskeletal proteins in the octopus retina and that position, dorsal versus ventral, also influences the distribution of motor proteins. The microtubule cytoskeleton is most likely involved in pigment granule migration in the light and dark and with the movement of transport vesicles from the photoreceptor inner segments to the rhabdoms.
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PMID:Distribution of tubulin, kinesin, and dynein in light- and dark-adapted octopus retinas. 1075 Aug 34

Thanks to recent technological advances, the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila has emerged as an attractive model organism for studies on the assembly of microtubular organelles in a single cell. Tetrahymena assembles 17 types of distinct microtubules, which are localized in cilia, cell cortex, nuclei, and the endoplasm. These diverse microtubules have distinct morphologies, stabilities, and associations with specific Microtubule-Associated Proteins. For example, kinesin-111, a microtubular motor protein, is required for assembly of cilia and is preferentially targeted to microtubules of actively assembled, immature cilia. It is unlikely that the unique properties of individual microtubules are derived from the utilization of diverse tubulin genes, because Tetrahymena expresses only a single isotype of alpha- and two isotypes of 1-tubulin. However, Tetrahymena tubulins are modified secondarily by a host of posttranslational mechanisms. Each microtubule organelle type displays a unique set of secondary tubulin modifications. The results of systematic in vivo mutational analyses of modification sites indicate a divergence in significance among post-translational mechanisms affecting either alpha- or beta-tubulin. Both acetylation and polyglycylation of alpha-tubulin are not essential and their complete elimination does not change the cell's phenotype in an appreciable way. However, the multiple polyglycylation sites on 1-tubulin are essential for survival, and their partial elimination dramatically affects cell motility, growth and morphology. Thus, both high-precision targeting of molecular motors to individual organelles as well as organelle-specific tubulin modifications contribute to the creation of diverse microtubules in a single cytoplasm of Tetrahymena.
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PMID:Molecular mechanisms of microtubular organelle assembly in Tetrahymena. 1084 34

The surface topography of opened-up microtubule walls (sheets) decorated with monomeric and dimeric kinesin motor domains was investigated by freeze-drying and unidirectional metal shadowing. Electron microscopy of surface-shadowed specimens produces images with a high signal/noise ratio, which enable a direct observation of surface features below 2 nm detail. Here we investigate the inner and outer surface of microtubules and tubulin sheets with and without decoration by kinesin motor domains. Tubulin sheets are flattened walls of microtubules, keeping lateral protofilament contacts intact. Surface shadowing reveals the following features: (i) when the microtubule outside is exposed the surface relief is dominated by the bound motor domains. Monomeric motor constructs generate a strong 8 nm periodicity, corresponding to the binding of one motor domain per alpha-beta-tubulin heterodimer. This surface periodicity largely disappears when dimeric kinesin motor domains are used for decoration, even though it is still visible in negatively stained or frozen hydrated specimens. This could be explained by disorder in the binding of the second (loosely tethered) kinesin head, and/or disorder in the coiled-coil tail. (ii) Both surfaces of undecorated sheets or microtubules, as well as the inner surface of decorated sheets, reveal a strong 4 nm repeat (due to the periodicity of tubulin monomers) and a weak 8 nm repeat (due to slight differences between alpha- and beta-tubulin). The differences between alpha- and beta-tubulin on the inner surface are stronger than expected from cryo-electron microscopy of unstained microtubules, indicating the existence of tubulin subdomain-specific surface properties that reflect the surface corrugation and hence metal deposition during evaporation. The 16 nm periodicity visible in some negatively stained specimens (caused by the pairing of cooperatively bound kinesin dimers) is not detected by surface shadowing.
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PMID:Surface topography of microtubule walls decorated with monomeric and dimeric kinesin constructs. 1107 33

We determined the crystal structure of the motor domain of the fast fungal kinesin from Neurospora crassa (NcKin). The structure has several unique features. (i) Loop 11 in the switch 2 region is ordered and enables one to describe the complete nucleotide-binding pocket, including three inter-switch salt bridges between switch 1 and 2. (ii) Loop 9 in the switch 1 region bends outwards, making the nucleotide-binding pocket very wide. The displacement in switch 1 resembles that of the G-protein ras complexed with its guanosine nucleotide exchange factor. (iii) Loop 5 in the entrance to the nucleotide-binding pocket is remarkably long and interacts with the ribose of ATP. (iv) The linker and neck region is not well defined, indicating that it is mobile. (v) Image reconstructions of ice-embedded microtubules decorated with NcKin show that it interacts with several tubulin subunits, including a central beta-tubulin monomer and the two flanking alpha-tubulin monomers within the microtubule protofilament. Comparison of NcKin with other kinesins, myosin and G-proteins suggests that the rate-limiting step of ADP release is accelerated in the fungal kinesin and accounts for the unusually high velocity and ATPase activity.
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PMID:Structure of a fast kinesin: implications for ATPase mechanism and interactions with microtubules. 1170 93

Formation of the bipolar mitotic spindle relies on a balance of forces acting on the spindle poles. The primary outward force is generated by the kinesin-related proteins of the BimC family that cross-link antiparallel interpolar microtubules and slide them past each other. Here, we provide evidence that Stu1p is also required for the production of this outward force in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In the temperature-sensitive stu1-5 mutant, spindle pole separation is inhibited, and preanaphase spindles collapse, with their previously separated poles being drawn together. The temperature sensitivity of stu1-5 can be suppressed by doubling the dosage of Cin8p, a yeast BimC kinesin-related protein. Stu1p was observed to be a component of the mitotic spindle localizing to the midregion of anaphase spindles. It also binds to microtubules in vitro, and we have examined the nature of this interaction. We show that Stu1p interacts specifically with beta-tubulin and identify the domains required for this interaction on both Stu1p and beta-tubulin. Taken together, these findings suggest that Stu1p binds to interpolar microtubules of the mitotic spindle and plays an essential role in their ability to provide an outward force on the spindle poles.
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PMID:Stu1p is physically associated with beta-tubulin and is required for structural integrity of the mitotic spindle. 1205 56


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