Crystal structure of the C-terminal domain of tubulin-binding cofactor C from Leishmania major

Maintaining essential microtubule bundles in meter-long axons: a role for local tubulin biogenesis?

Axons are the narrow, up-to-meter long cellular processes of neurons that form the biological cables wiring our nervous system. Most axons must survive for an organism's lifetime, i.e. up to a century in humans. Axonal maintenance depends on loose bundles of microtubules that run without interruption all along axons. The continued turn-over and the extension of microtubule bundles during developmental, regenerative or plastic growth requires the availability of α/β-tubulin heterodimers up to a meter away from the cell body. The underlying regulation in axons is poorly understood and hardly features in past and contemporary research. Here we discuss potential mechanisms, particularly focussing on the possibility of local tubulin biogenesis in axons. Current knowledge might suggest that local translation of tubulin takes place in axons, but far less is known about the post-translational machinery of tubulin biogenesis involving three chaperone complexes: prefoldin, CCT and TBC. We discuss functional understanding of these chaperones from a range of model organisms including yeast, plants, flies and mice, and explain what is known from human diseases. Microtubules across species depend on these chaperones, and they are clearly required in the nervous system. However, most chaperones display a high degree of functional pleiotropy, partly through independent functions of individual subunits outside their complexes, thus posing a challenge to experimental studies. Notably, we found hardly any studies that investigate their presence and function particularly in axons, thus highlighting an important gap in our understanding of axon biology and pathology.

Brownian Dynamics Simulations of Biological Molecules

Brownian dynamics (BD) is a technique for carrying out computer simulations of physical systems that are driven by thermal fluctuations. Biological systems at the macromolecular and cellular level, while falling in the gap between well-established atomic-level models and continuum models, are especially suitable for such simulations. We present a brief history, examples of important biological processes that are driven by thermal motion, and those that have been profitably studied by BD. We also present some of the challenges facing developers of algorithms and software, especially in the attempt to simulate larger systems more accurately and for longer times.

Leishmania infantum β-Tubulin Identified by Reverse Engineering Technology through Phage Display Applied as Theranostic Marker for Human Visceral Leishmaniasis

Two Leishmania infantum mimotopes (B10 and C01) identified by phage display showed to be antigenic and immunogenic for visceral (VL) and tegumentary (TL) leishmaniasis; however, their biological targets in the parasites have not been identified. The aim of the present study was to investigate the native antigens expressing both mimotopes, and to use them in distinct immunological assays. For this, a subtractive phage display technology was used, where a combinatorial library of single-chain variable fragments (scFv) was employed and the most reactive monoclonal antibodies for each target were captured, being the target antigens identified by mass spectrometry. Results in immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation assays showed that both monoclonal scFvs antibodies identified the β-tubulin protein as the target antigen in L. infantum. To validate these findings, the recombinant protein was cloned, purified and tested for the serodiagnosis of human leishmaniasis, and its immunogenicity was evaluated in PBMC derived from healthy subjects and treated or untreated VL patients. Results showed high diagnostic efficacy, as well as the development of a specific Th1 immune response in the cell cultures, since higher IFN-γ and lower IL-10 production was found.

The C-terminal dimerization motif of cyclase-associated protein is essential for actin monomer regulation

Cyclase-associated protein (CAP) is a conserved actin-regulatory protein that functions together with actin depolymerizing factor (ADF)/cofilin to enhance actin filament dynamics. CAP has multiple functional domains, and the function to regulate actin monomers is carried out by its C-terminal half containing a Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome protein homology 2 (WH2) domain, a CAP and X-linked retinitis pigmentosa 2 (CARP) domain, and a dimerization motif. WH2 and CARP are implicated in binding to actin monomers and important for enhancing filament turnover. However, the role of the dimerization motif is unknown. Here, we investigated the function of the dimerization motif of CAS-2, a CAP isoform in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, in actin monomer regulation. CAS-2 promotes ATP-dependent recycling of ADF/cofilin-bound actin monomers for polymerization by enhancing exchange of actin-bound nucleotides. The C-terminal half of CAS-2 (CAS-2C) has nearly as strong activity as full-length CAS-2. Maltose-binding protein (MBP)-tagged CAS-2C is a dimer. However, MBP-CAS-2C with a truncation of either one or two C-terminal β-strands is monomeric. Truncations of the dimerization motif in MBP-CAS-2C nearly completely abolish its activity to sequester actin monomers from polymerization and enhance nucleotide exchange on actin monomers. As a result, these CAS-2C variants, also in the context of full-length CAS-2, fail to compete with ADF/cofilin to release actin monomers for polymerization. CAS-2C variants lacking the dimerization motif exhibit enhanced binding to actin filaments, which is mediated by WH2. Taken together, these results suggest that the evolutionarily conserved dimerization motif of CAP is essential for its C-terminal region to exert the actin monomer-specific regulatory function.