Examination of tubulin-nucleotide interactions by protein fluorescence quenching measurements

The free energy for hydrolysis of a microtubule-bound nucleotide triphosphate is near zero: all of the free energy for hydrolysis is stored in the microtubule lattice

The standard free energy for hydrolysis of the GTP analogue guanylyl-(a,b)-methylene-diphosphonate (GMPCPP), which is -5.18 kcal in solution, was found to be -3.79 kcal in tubulin dimers, and only -0.90 kcal in tubulin subunits in microtubules. The near-zero change in standard free energy for GMPCPP hydrolysis in the microtubule indicates that the majority of the free energy potentially available from this reaction is stored in the microtubule lattice; this energy is available to do work, as in chromosome movement. The equilibrium constants described here were obtained from video microscopy measurements of the kinetics of assembly and disassembly of GMPCPP-microtubules and GMPCP-microtubules. It was possible to study GMPCPP-microtubules since GMPCPP is not hydrolyzed during assembly. Microtubules containing GMPCP were obtained by assembly of high concentrations of tubulin-GMPCP subunits, as well as by treating tubulin-GMPCPP-microtubules in sodium (but not potassium) Pipes buffer with glycerol, which reduced the half-time for GMPCPP hydrolysis from > 10 h to approximately 10 min. The rate for tubulin-GMPCPP and tubulin-GMPCP subunit dissociation from microtubule ends were found to be about 0.65 and 128 s-1, respectively. The much faster rate for tubulin-GMPCP subunit dissociation provides direct evidence that microtubule dynamics can be regulated by nucleotide triphosphate hydrolysis.

Role of GTP hydrolysis in microtubule dynamics: information from a slowly hydrolyzable analogue, GMPCPP

The role of GTP hydrolysis in microtubule dynamics has been reinvestigated using an analogue of GTP, guanylyl-(alpha, beta)-methylene-diphosphonate (GMPCPP). This analogue binds to the tubulin exchangeable nucleotide binding site (E-site) with an affinity four to eightfold lower than GTP and promotes the polymerization of normal microtubules. The polymerization rate of microtubules with GMPCPP-tubulin is very similar to that of GTP-tubulin. However, in contrast to microtubules polymerized with GTP, GMPCPP-microtubules do not depolymerize rapidly after isothermal dilution. The depolymerization rate of GMPCPP-microtubules is 0.1 s-1 compared with 500 s-1 for GDP-microtubules. GMPCPP also completely suppresses dynamic instability. Contrary to previous work, we find that the beta--gamma bond of GMPCPP is hydrolyzed extremely slowly after incorporation into the microtubule lattice, with a rate constant of 4 x 10(-7) s-1. Because GMPCPP hydrolysis is negligible over the course of a polymerization experiment, it can be used to test the role of hydrolysis in microtubule dynamics. Our results provide strong new evidence for the idea that GTP hydrolysis by tubulin is not required for normal polymerization but is essential for depolymerization and thus for dynamic instability. Because GMPCPP strongly promotes spontaneous nucleation of microtubules, we propose that GTP hydrolysis by tubulin also plays the important biological role of inhibiting spontaneous microtubule nucleation.

Binding of guanine nucleotides and Mg2+ to tubulin with a nucleotide-depleted exchangeable site

Binding of GTP and GDP to tubulin in the presence or absence of Mg2+ was measured following depletion of the exchangeable site--(E-site) nucleotide. The E-site nucleotide was displaced with a large molar excess of the nonhydrolyzable GTP analogue, GMPPCP, followed by the removal of the analogue. Using a micropartition assay, the equilibrium constant measured in 0.1 M 1.4-piperazinediethanesulfonic acid (Pipes), pH 6.9, 1 mM ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether) N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid, 1 mM dithiothreitol, and 1 mM MgSO4 at 4 degrees C was 9.1 x 10(6) M-1 for GTP and 4.4 x 10(6) M-1 for GDP. Removal of Mg2+ reduced the binding affinity of GTP by 160-fold while the affinity of GDP remained essentially unchanged. Similar values were obtained if 0.1 M Tris, pH 7.0, was used instead of Pipes. Binding of Mg2+ to tubulin containing GTP, GDP, or no nucleotide at the E-site was also examined by the micropartition method. Tubulin-GTP contained one high affinity Mg2+ site (K alpha = 1.2 x 10(6) M-1) in addition to the one occupied by Mg2+ as tubulin is isolated, while only weak Mg2+ binding to tubulin-GDP and to tubulin with a vacant E-site (K alpha = 10(3) M-1) was observed. It is suggested that Mg2+ binds to the beta and gamma phosphates of GTP, and only to the beta phosphate of GDP, as shown for the H. ras p21 protein.

Influence of the guanine nucleotide phosphorylation state and of Mg2+ ions on the interaction of vinzolidine/tubulin 6 S: a fluorescence quenching study

The binding of the new vincaalkaloid vinzolidine to tubulin 6 S was investigated by using fluorescence quenching methods. The value of the apparent equilibrium binding constant was found to depend on the phosphorylation state of the guanine nucleotide bound to the tubulin exchangeable site (E-site), with Ka values of 4.9 X 10(4) and 8.19 X 10(4) M-1 for GTP- and GDP-tubulin, respectively. The effect of Mg2+ ions on this binding was more important on GTP-tubulin than on GDP-tubulin, and might be related to the existence of Mg2+ site(s) independent of the nucleotide.

A model of the nucleotide-binding site in tubulin

Tubulin uses GTP to regulate microtubule assembly and is thought to be a member of a class of GDP/GTP-binding proteins (G-proteins) as defined by Hughes [(1983) Febs Lett. 164, 1-8]. How tubulin is structurally related to G-proteins is not known. We use a synthesis of sequence comparisons between tubulin, other G-proteins, and ADP/ATP-binding proteins and topological arguments to identify potential regions involved in nucleotide binding. We propose that the nucleotide-binding domain in the beta-subunit of tubulin is an alpha/beta structure derived from amino acid residues approximately 60-300. Five peptide sequences are identified which we suggest exist as 'loops' that extend from beta-strands and connect alpha-helices in this structure. We argue that GDP binds to four of the five loops in an Mg2+-independent manner while GTP binds in an Mg2+-dependent manner to a different combination of four loops. We propose that this switch between loops upon GTP binding induces a conformational change essential for microtubule assembly.

Effects of pH on tubulin-nucleotide interactions

Significant GTP-independent, temperature-dependent turbidity development occurs with purified tubulin stored in the absence of unbound nucleotide, and this can be minimized with a higher reaction pH. Since microtubule assembly is optimal at lower pH values, we examined pH effects on tubulin-nucleotide interactions. While the lowest concentration of GTP required for assembly changed little, GDP was more inhibitory at higher pH values. The amounts of exogenous GTP bound to tubulin at all pH values were similar, but the amounts of exogenous GDP bound and endogenous GDP (i.e., GDP originally bound in the exchangeable site) retained by tubulin rose as reaction pH increased. Endogenous GDP was more efficiently displaced by exogenous GTP than GDP at all pH values, but displacement by GTP was 10-15% greater at pH 6 than at pH 7. Dissociation constants for GDP and GTP were about 1.0 microM at pH 6 and 0.02 microM at pH 7. A small increase in the affinity of GDP relative to that of GTP occurs at pH 7 as compared to pH 6, together with a 50-fold absolute increase in the affinity of both nucleotides for tubulin at pH 7. The time courses of microtubule assembly and GTP hydrolysis were compared at pH 6 and pH 7. At pH 6, the two reactions were simultaneous in onset and initially stoichiometric. At pH 7, although the reactions began simultaneously, hydrolysis seemed to lag substantially behind assembly. Unhydrolyzed radiolabeled GTP was not incorporated into microtubules, however, indicating that GTP hydrolysis is actually closely coupled to assembly. The apparent lag in hydrolysis probably results from a methodological artifact rather than incorporation of GTP into the microtubule with delayed hydrolysis.

Differential effects of magnesium on tubulin-nucleotide interactions

Magnesium-depleted 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonate (Mes), glutamate, tubulin and microtubule-associated proteins were prepared and used to study the effects of exogenously added MgCl2 on tubulin-nucleotide interactions in 0.1 M Mes with microtubule-associated proteins and in 1.0 M glutamate. Endogenous levels of Mg2+ in the systems studied were approximately stoichiometric with the tubulin concentrations and largely derived from the tubulin. We examined the effects of added Mg2+ on tubulin polymerization, GDP inhibition of polymerization, binding of GDP and GTP to tubulin, and GTP hydrolysis. Exogenously added Mg2+ had markedly different effects on these reactions. The order of their sensitivity for a requirement for added Mg2+ was as follows: GTP binding greater than GTP hydrolysis greater than polymerization greater than GDP binding. Inhibition of polymerization by GDP varied inversely with the Mg2+ concentration and was greatest in the absence of the cation. These results indicate that GDP and GDP-Mg2+ interact with similar affinity at the exchangeable site, while GTP-Mg2+ has a higher affinity for tubulin than does free GTP. Nevertheless, under appropriate conditions, free GTP can interact sufficiently well with tubulin to permit both nucleation and elongation reactions.

Incorporation of GDP-tubulin during elongation of microtubules in vitro

Removal of GDP from tubulin E-site is not obligatory for the in vitro assembly of microtubule protein in 0.5 mM GMPPCP. This assembly, which is significantly enhanced by glycerol, produces microtubules of normal morphology and with normal composition of microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs). [3H]-GDP initially present at the E-site is shown to be incorporated directly into microtubules during assembly; this incorporation, maximally 60% of the assembled polymer, is dependent upon MAPs. These results are consistent with oligomeric species composed principally of GDP-tubulin plus MAPs, being incorporated directly into microtubules. The finding that stoichiometric GTP-tubulin formation is not an essential prerequisite for microtubule assembly may have important implications for the energetics of microtubule formation.

Directed elongation model for microtubule GTP hydrolysis

We propose a role for GTP hydrolysis in microtubule assembly in which the GTPase reaction serves to stabilize tubulin subunits in the microtubule. The GTPase reaction in tubulin subunits containing GTP at microtubule ends is presumed to occur predominately in subunits at one of the interfaces between a cap of GTP-containing tubulin subunit and a core of GDP-containing tubulin subunit in the microtubule, resulting in elongation of the core. The proposed model interprets the effects of GDP on microtubule assembly, using a reaction scheme in which GDP-containing tubulin subunits are able to add to microtubule ends. The model can account for the GTP requirement for microtubule assembly, the GDP inhibition of the rate for microtubule elongation, and the fact that a metastable state exists after the enzymic conversion of GTP to GDP, with microtubules which are at steady state. To account for the fact that the microtubule assembly and disassembly rates are nonlinearly dependent upon the tubulin subunit concentration and for the effects of GDP-containing tubulin subunits on the kinetic properties of microtubules, our scheme includes nonproductive as well as productive binding of GTP- and GDP-containing tubulin subunits. We compare our model with an alternative scheme [Hill, T. L. & Carlier, M. F. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 80, 7234-7238], which interprets the effects of GDP on microtubule assembly using a reaction scheme in which GDP is able to exchange with GTP in GTP-containing tubulin subunits in the microtubule and in which the principal GTPase occurs in GTP-containing tubulin subunits at the microtubule/solution interface.

Interaction between rat brain microtubule associated proteins (MAPs) and free ribosomes from Xenopus oocyte: a possible mechanism for the in ovo distribution of MAPs

The binding of microtubule associated proteins (MAPs) to free 80 S ribosomes isolated from Xenopus laevis oocytes inhibits in vitro tubulin assembly (Jessus et al., 1984). The inhibition of tubulin polymerisation was shown to be dependent upon GTP. The dose of GTP needed to induce 50% of the maximal effect was 0.5 mM. Furthermore, the inhibition is enhanced by pretreatment of the ribosomes with ATP-gamma-S, and partially abolished after phosphatase treatment, which strongly suggests that protein phosphorylation regulated the inhibitory effect. When fluorescent purified MAPs are microinjected into Xenopus laevis oocyte, they cap 1 h later the basal nuclear envelope; in contrast, when the fluorescent MAPs-ribosome complex is injected, the fluorescent MAPs remain in the cytoplasm and never reach the region underlying the nuclear envelope.

Limited proteolysis of tubulin: nucleotide stabilizes an active conformation

Limited proteolysis has been used to examine tubulin structure as related to microtubule assembly. Purified tubulin, freed of exchangeable nucleotide, was digested with low concentrations of chymotrypsin (0.01-0.1% w/w to tubulin) and its polymerization behavior investigated. Chymotryptic proteolysis resulted in a loss of assembly activity with apparent first-order inactivation kinetics. The inactivation rates were dependent on both chymotrypsin concentration and incubation temperature. However, these conditions of proteolysis did not significantly affect tubulin's colchicine binding activity. Polyacrylamide-NaDodSO4 electrophoresis demonstrated the major cleavage fragments of tubulin to be 34 and 17 kilodaltons. Furthermore, amino-terminal analysis showed methionine for the 17-kilodalton fragment and both glutamate and serine for the 34-kilodalton fragment. Microtubular structures formed from chymotryptic tubulin possessed constrictions and had a frayed appearance in the electron microscope; these polymers were composed of both native tubulin and the 34- and 17-kilodalton fragments, suggesting that the loss of microtubule assembly results from tubulin cleavage and the altered interaction of cleavage fragments with uncleaved tubulin subunits. Interestingly, the readdition of GTP prior to proteolysis significantly protected tubulin's assembly capacity, presumably by stabilizing the fragments in an active conformation as indicated by circular dichroism spectra.

Affinity labeling of tubulin's exchangeable guanosine 5'-triphosphate binding site

Tubulin requires GTP for maximal rate and extent of polymerization into microtubules. The localization of the guanine nucleotide in the microtubule was examined by preparing affinity probes that would permit tubulin polymerization prior to their covalent coupling to amino acids in tubulin's exchangeable GTP binding site. Two different hydrolyzable GTP analogues with modified ribose moieties, 3'-p-azidobenzoyl)-GTP and the periodate oxidation product of GTP, 2-(guanylformylmethoxy)-3-(triphospho)propanal, were isolated by thin-layer chromatography and high-voltage electrophoresis and identified by ultraviolet and infrared spectroscopy. The analogues bind to the tubulin molecule and promote polymerization. After tubulin polymerization and isolation of microtubules, the [3H]GTP analogues were covalently coupled to tubulin by NaBH4 reduction or UV irradiation. The microtubules possessed about 1 mol of acid-precipitable 3H-labeled nucleotide/mol of tubulin dimer. Separation of the subunits showed that the nucleotide analogues were associated with both alpha and beta subunits of tubulin in nearly equal amounts. The binding of analogues to both alpha and beta subunits was saturable and competitive with GTP. Cyanogen bromide cleavage of both alpha and beta subunits showed that the 3H-labeled nucleotide was associated with a single molecular weight species of similar size (approximately 10 000) from each subunit. Two-dimensional electrophoresis of chymotryptic peptides from both (alpha and beta) cyanogen bromide fragments showed that the 3H-labeled nucleotide was associated with a peptide of nearly identical migration properties from both subunits. These results suggest that a similar peptide segment of both alpha- and beta-tubulin has the ability to bind GTP. Furthermore, this peptide was localized to the amino-terminal one-third of the tubulin molecule.

Guanosine-5'-triphosphate hydrolysis and tubulin polymerization. Review article

GTP hydrolysis associated with polymerization is a distinctive feature of microtubule assembly. This reaction may be fundamentally linked to the dynamic properties of microtubules in vivo. Kinetic analysis of the connection between microtubule assembly and associated GTP hydrolysis indicates that these two events are kinetically uncoupled, GTP hydrolysis occurring after tubulin incorporation in the microtubule. As a consequence, the combination of the diffusional incorporation of GTP in microtubules at steady-state and of subsequent GTP hydrolysis results in the formation of a steady-state GTP cap at microtubule ends. The interplay between GTP and GDP at microtubule ends is examined. Inhibition by GDP of steady-state GTP hydrolysis at microtubule ends and of microtubule elongation is understood within a tight reversible binding of GDP at microtubule ends generating 'inactive' elongation sites. Nucleotides are freely exchangeable at microtubule ends. This result indicates that the nature of the nucleotide present at microtubule ends must be considered in a model for microtubule assembly. These data are pooled in order to define the general features of a model describing microtubule assembly and treadmilling in terms somewhat different from previously proposed models.

Kinetic analysis of guanosine 5'-triphosphate hydrolysis associated with tubulin polymerization

The correlation between the time courses of pure tubulin assembly and accompanying guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP) hydrolysis has been studied at different tubulin concentrations in the range where the rate of assembly varies with a strong cooperativity. One GTP molecule was found hydrolyzed per molecule of tubulin dimer incorporated in the microtubule. This hydrolysis was not strictly coupled to polymerization and occurred in a subsequent step. Consequently, in the first stages of assembly, tubulin-GtP complex is the transient major constituent of microtubules. Kinetic data of GTP hydrolysis have been treated within a model of two consecutive first-order reactions: [tubulin-GTP]free k1 leads to [tubulin-GTP]MT k2 leads to [tubulin-GDP]MT + [Pi] GTP hydrolysis proceeded at an intrinsic rate k2 = 0.25 min-1 independent of tubulin concentration. Simultaneous measurements of polymerization, GTPase activity, and incorporation of [3H]GTP followed by unlabeled GTP chase indicated that before its hydrolysis GTP bound to microtubules was exchangeable while after hydrolysis GDP remained locked in the E site. The possibility is discussed that after assembly tubulin undergoes a conformation change which could trigger GTP hydrolysis and sequestration of GDP.

Participation of guanine nucleotides in nucleation and elongation steps of microtubule assembly

Critical concentrations for formation of microtubules from subunits with GTP and its beta, gamma-imido and beta, gamma-methylene analogs are similar when adequate time is given for equilibration. Dilution of microtubules into GTP and GDP yielded values of 0.1 and 0.19 mg/ml for the critical concentration, results similar to those reported by Carlier and Pantaloni [Carlier, M. & Pantaloni, D. (1978) Biochemistry 17, 1908-1915]. GDP is capable of supporting elongation of preformed microtubules, but it efficiently poisons the nucleation events. Reported experiments also demonstrate that the critical tubulin concentration of the tubulin-GDP complex can be accurately measured in both the assembly and disassembly directions. Evidence is presented that GTP is involved in early nucleation events but that microtubules are stabilized in the presence of either GTP or GDP. These results are discussed in terms of a condensation-equilibrium model in which tubulin subunits equilibrate rapidly with microtubule ends, and their affinity for the ends is governed by the nucleotide ligand at the exchangeable site.