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Gudimchuk NB, Alexandrova VV. Measuring and modeling forces generated by microtubules. Biophys Rev 2023; 15:1095-1110. [PMID: 37974983 PMCID: PMC10643784 DOI: 10.1007/s12551-023-01161-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Tubulins are essential proteins, which are conserved across all eukaryotic species. They polymerize to form microtubules, cytoskeletal components of paramount importance for cellular mechanics. The microtubules combine an extraordinarily high flexural rigidity and a non-equilibrium behavior, manifested in their intermittent assembly and disassembly. These chemically fueled dynamics allow microtubules to generate significant pushing and pulling forces at their ends to reposition intracellular organelles, remodel membranes, bear compressive forces, and transport chromosomes during cell division. In this article, we review classical and recent studies, which have allowed the quantification of microtubule-generated forces. The measurements, to which we owe most of the quantitative information about microtubule forces, were carried out in biochemically reconstituted systems in vitro. We also discuss how mathematical and computational modeling has contributed to the interpretations of these results and shaped our understanding of the mechanisms of force production by tubulin polymerization and depolymerization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikita B. Gudimchuk
- Department of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Department of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Center for Theoretical Problems of Physicochemical Pharmacology, Moscow, Russia
- Pskov State University, Pskov, Russia
| | - Veronika V. Alexandrova
- Department of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Department of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Center for Theoretical Problems of Physicochemical Pharmacology, Moscow, Russia
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2
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Al-Hiyasat A, Tuna Y, Kuo YW, Howard J. Herding of proteins by the ends of shrinking polymers. Phys Rev E 2023; 107:L042601. [PMID: 37198784 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.107.l042601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
The control of biopolymer length is mediated by proteins that localize to polymer ends and regulate polymerization dynamics. Several mechanisms have been proposed to achieve end localization. Here, we propose a novel mechanism by which a protein that binds to a shrinking polymer and slows its shrinkage will be spontaneously enriched at the shrinking end through a "herding" effect. We formalize this process using both lattice-gas and continuum descriptions, and we present experimental evidence that the microtubule regulator spastin employs this mechanism. Our findings extend to more general problems involving diffusion within shrinking domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amer Al-Hiyasat
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Yazgan Tuna
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
| | - Yin-Wei Kuo
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
| | - Jonathon Howard
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
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3
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Murray LE, Kim H, Rice LM, Asbury CL. Catching the Conformational Wave: Measuring the Working Strokes of Protofilaments as They Curl Outward from Disassembling Microtubule Tips. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2478:653-676. [PMID: 36063337 PMCID: PMC9542027 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2229-2_23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Optical traps have enabled foundational studies of how mechanoenzymes such as kinesins and dynein motors walk along microtubules, how myosins move along F-actin, and how nucleic acid enzymes move along DNA or RNA. Often the filamentous substrates serve merely as passive tracks for mechanoenzymes but microtubules and F-actin are themselves dynamic protein polymers, capable of generating movement and force independently of conventional motors. Microtubule-driven forces are particularly important during mitosis, when they align duplicated chromosomes at the metaphase plate and then pull them apart during anaphase. These vital movements depend on specialized protein assemblies called kinetochores that couple the chromosomes to the tips of dynamic microtubule filaments, thereby allowing filament shortening to produce pulling forces. Although great strides have been made toward understanding the structures and functions of many kinetochore subcomplexes, the biophysical basis for their coupling to microtubule tips remains unclear. During tip disassembly, strain energy is released when straight protofilaments in the microtubule lattice curl outward, creating a conformational wave that propagates down the microtubule. A popular viewpoint is that the protofilaments as they curl outward hook elements of the kinetochore and tug on them, transferring some of their curvature strain energy to the kinetochore. As a first step toward testing this idea, we recently developed a laser trap assay to directly measure the working strokes generated by curling protofilaments. Our "wave" assay is based on an earlier pioneering study, with improvements that allow measurement of curl-driven movements as functions of force and quantification of their conformational strain energy. In this chapter, we provide a detailed protocol for our assay and describe briefly our instrument setup and data analysis methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas E. Murray
- Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle WA 98195, USA
| | - Haein Kim
- Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle WA 98195, USA
| | - Luke M. Rice
- Department of Biophysics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas TX 75390, USA
| | - Charles L. Asbury
- Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle WA 98195, USA.,address correspondence to:
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4
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Fong KK, Davis TN, Asbury CL. Microtubule pivoting enables mitotic spindle assembly in S. cerevisiae. J Cell Biol 2021; 220:211686. [PMID: 33464308 PMCID: PMC7814349 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.202007193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
To assemble a bipolar spindle, microtubules emanating from two poles must bundle into an antiparallel midzone, where plus end–directed motors generate outward pushing forces to drive pole separation. Midzone cross-linkers and motors display only modest preferences for antiparallel filaments, and duplicated poles are initially tethered together, an arrangement that instead favors parallel interactions. Pivoting of microtubules around spindle poles might help overcome this geometric bias, but the intrinsic pivoting flexibility of the microtubule–pole interface has not been directly measured, nor has its importance during early spindle assembly been tested. By measuring the pivoting of microtubules around isolated yeast spindle poles, we show that pivoting flexibility can be modified by mutating a microtubule-anchoring pole component, Spc110. By engineering mutants with different flexibilities, we establish the importance of pivoting in vivo for timely pole separation. Our results suggest that passive thermal pivoting can bring microtubules from side-by-side poles into initial contact, but active minus end–directed force generation will be needed to achieve antiparallel alignment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly K Fong
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Trisha N Davis
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
| | - Charles L Asbury
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
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5
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Pavin N, Tolić IM. Mechanobiology of the Mitotic Spindle. Dev Cell 2020; 56:192-201. [PMID: 33238148 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2020.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Revised: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The mitotic spindle is a microtubule-based assembly that separates the chromosomes during cell division. As the spindle is basically a mechanical micro machine, the understanding of its functioning is constantly motivating the development of experimental approaches based on mechanical perturbations, which are complementary to and work together with the classical genetics and biochemistry methods. Recent data emerging from these approaches in combination with theoretical modeling led to novel ideas and significant revisions of the basic concepts in the field. In this Perspective, we discuss the advances in the understanding of spindle mechanics, focusing on microtubule forces that control chromosome movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nenad Pavin
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Bijenička cesta 32, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Iva M Tolić
- Division of Molecular Biology, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
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6
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French BT, Straight AF. The Power of Xenopus Egg Extract for Reconstitution of Centromere and Kinetochore Function. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR AND SUBCELLULAR BIOLOGY 2019; 56:59-84. [PMID: 28840233 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-58592-5_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Faithful transmission of genetic information during cell division requires attachment of chromosomes to the mitotic spindle via the kinetochore. In vitro reconstitution studies are beginning to uncover how the kinetochore is assembled upon the underlying centromere, how the kinetochore couples chromosome movement to microtubule dynamics, and how cells ensure the site of kinetochore assembly is maintained from one generation to the next. Here we give special emphasis to advances made in Xenopus egg extract, which provides a unique, biochemically tractable in vitro system that affords the complexity of cytoplasm and nucleoplasm to permit reconstitution of the dynamic, cell cycle-regulated functions of the centromere and kinetochore.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley T French
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University, 279 Campus Drive, Beckman 409, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Aaron F Straight
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University, 279 Campus Drive, Beckman 409, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
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7
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McIntosh JR. Assessing the Contributions of Motor Enzymes and Microtubule Dynamics to Mitotic Chromosome Motions. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol 2018; 33:1-22. [PMID: 28992437 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-cellbio-100616-060827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
During my graduate work with Keith Porter, I became fascinated by the mitotic spindle, an interest that has motivated much of my scientific work ever since. I began spindle studies by using electron microscopes, instruments that have made significant contributions to our understanding of spindle organization. Such instruments have helped to elucidate the distributions of spindle microtubules, the interactions among them, their molecular polarity, and their associations with both kinetochores and spindle poles. Our lab has also investigated some processes of spindle physiology: microtubule dynamics, the actions of microtubule-associated proteins (including motor enzymes), the character of forces generated by specific spindle components, and factors that control mitotic progression. Here, I give a personal perspective on some of this intellectual history and on what recent discoveries imply about the mechanisms of chromosome motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Richard McIntosh
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0347;
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8
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Peet DR, Burroughs NJ, Cross RA. Kinesin expands and stabilizes the GDP-microtubule lattice. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY 2018; 13:386-391. [PMID: 29531331 PMCID: PMC5937683 DOI: 10.1038/s41565-018-0084-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2016] [Accepted: 01/30/2018] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Kinesin-1 is a nanoscale molecular motor that walks towards the fast-growing (plus) ends of microtubules, hauling molecular cargo to specific reaction sites in cells. Kinesin-driven transport is central to the self-organization of eukaryotic cells and shows great promise as a tool for nano-engineering 1 . Recent work hints that kinesin may also play a role in modulating the stability of its microtubule track, both in vitro2,3 and in vivo 4 , but the results are conflicting5-7 and the mechanisms are unclear. Here, we report a new dimension to the kinesin-microtubule interaction, whereby strong-binding state (adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-bound and apo) kinesin-1 motor domains inhibit the shrinkage of guanosine diphosphate (GDP) microtubules by up to two orders of magnitude and expand their lattice spacing by ~1.6%. Our data reveal an unexpected mechanism by which the mechanochemical cycles of kinesin and tubulin interlock, and so allow motile kinesins to influence the structure, stability and mechanics of their microtubule track.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel R Peet
- Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology, Warwick Medical School, Coventry, UK
- Warwick Systems Biology Centre, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Nigel J Burroughs
- Warwick Systems Biology Centre, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
- Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Robert A Cross
- Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology, Warwick Medical School, Coventry, UK.
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9
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Barsegov V, Ross JL, Dima RI. Dynamics of microtubules: highlights of recent computational and experimental investigations. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2017; 29:433003. [PMID: 28812545 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/aa8670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Microtubules are found in most eukaryotic cells, with homologs in eubacteria and archea, and they have functional roles in mitosis, cell motility, intracellular transport, and the maintenance of cell shape. Numerous efforts have been expended over the last two decades to characterize the interactions between microtubules and the wide variety of microtubule associated proteins that control their dynamic behavior in cells resulting in microtubules being assembled and disassembled where and when they are required by the cell. We present the main findings regarding microtubule polymerization and depolymerization and review recent work about the molecular motors that modulate microtubule dynamics by inducing either microtubule depolymerization or severing. We also discuss the main experimental and computational approaches used to quantify the thermodynamics and mechanics of microtubule filaments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valeri Barsegov
- Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA 01854, United States of America
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10
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Kanfer G, Peterka M, Arzhanik VK, Drobyshev AL, Ataullakhanov FI, Volkov VA, Kornmann B. CENP-F couples cargo to growing and shortening microtubule ends. Mol Biol Cell 2017; 28:2400-2409. [PMID: 28701340 PMCID: PMC5576903 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e16-11-0756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2016] [Revised: 06/20/2017] [Accepted: 06/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Unlike canonical transport, in which cargo is attached to molecular motors, CENP-F promotes the transport of cargoes such as mitochondria by directly attaching them to the tips of growing and shrinking microtubules. Dynamic microtubule ends exert pulling and pushing forces on intracellular membranes and organelles. However, the mechanical linkage of microtubule tips to their cargoes is poorly understood. CENP-F is a nonmotor microtubule-binding protein that participates in microtubule binding at kinetochores and in the mitotic redistribution of the mitochondrial network. CENP-F–driven mitochondrial transport is linked to growing microtubule tips, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. Here we show that CENP-F tracks growing microtubule ends in living cells. In vitro reconstitution demonstrates that microtubule tips can transport mitochondria and CENP-F–coated artificial cargoes over micrometer-long distances during both growing and shrinking phases. Based on these and previous observations, we suggest that CENP-F might act as a transporter of mitochondria and other cellular cargoes by attaching them to dynamic microtubule ends during both polymerization and depolymerization of tubulin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gil Kanfer
- Institute of Biochemistry, ETH Zurich, ZH 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Martin Peterka
- Institute of Biochemistry, ETH Zurich, ZH 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Vladimir K Arzhanik
- Department of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics, Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexei L Drobyshev
- Center for Theoretical Problems of Physicochemical Pharmacology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Fazly I Ataullakhanov
- Center for Theoretical Problems of Physicochemical Pharmacology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Vladimir A Volkov
- Center for Theoretical Problems of Physicochemical Pharmacology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Benoît Kornmann
- Institute of Biochemistry, ETH Zurich, ZH 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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11
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Driver JW, Geyer EA, Bailey ME, Rice LM, Asbury CL. Direct measurement of conformational strain energy in protofilaments curling outward from disassembling microtubule tips. eLife 2017. [PMID: 28628007 PMCID: PMC5515574 DOI: 10.7554/elife.28433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Disassembling microtubules can generate movement independently of motor enzymes, especially at kinetochores where they drive chromosome motility. A popular explanation is the 'conformational wave' model, in which protofilaments pull on the kinetochore as they curl outward from a disassembling tip. But whether protofilaments can work efficiently via this spring-like mechanism has been unclear. By modifying a previous assay to use recombinant tubulin and feedback-controlled laser trapping, we directly demonstrate the spring-like elasticity of curling protofilaments. Measuring their mechanical work output suggests they carry ~25% of the energy of GTP hydrolysis as bending strain, enabling them to drive movement with efficiency similar to conventional motors. Surprisingly, a β-tubulin mutant that dramatically slows disassembly has no effect on work output, indicating an uncoupling of disassembly speed from protofilament strain. These results show the wave mechanism can make a major contribution to kinetochore motility and establish a direct approach for measuring tubulin mechano-chemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan W Driver
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
| | - Elisabeth A Geyer
- Department of Biophysics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States.,Department of Biochemistry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
| | - Megan E Bailey
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
| | - Luke M Rice
- Department of Biophysics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States.,Department of Biochemistry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
| | - Charles L Asbury
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
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12
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Mechanisms of Chromosome Congression during Mitosis. BIOLOGY 2017; 6:biology6010013. [PMID: 28218637 PMCID: PMC5372006 DOI: 10.3390/biology6010013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2016] [Revised: 01/07/2017] [Accepted: 01/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Chromosome congression during prometaphase culminates with the establishment of a metaphase plate, a hallmark of mitosis in metazoans. Classical views resulting from more than 100 years of research on this topic have attempted to explain chromosome congression based on the balance between opposing pulling and/or pushing forces that reach an equilibrium near the spindle equator. However, in mammalian cells, chromosome bi-orientation and force balance at kinetochores are not required for chromosome congression, whereas the mechanisms of chromosome congression are not necessarily involved in the maintenance of chromosome alignment after congression. Thus, chromosome congression and maintenance of alignment are determined by different principles. Moreover, it is now clear that not all chromosomes use the same mechanism for congressing to the spindle equator. Those chromosomes that are favorably positioned between both poles when the nuclear envelope breaks down use the so-called "direct congression" pathway in which chromosomes align after bi-orientation and the establishment of end-on kinetochore-microtubule attachments. This favors the balanced action of kinetochore pulling forces and polar ejection forces along chromosome arms that drive chromosome oscillatory movements during and after congression. The other pathway, which we call "peripheral congression", is independent of end-on kinetochore microtubule-attachments and relies on the dominant and coordinated action of the kinetochore motors Dynein and Centromere Protein E (CENP-E) that mediate the lateral transport of peripheral chromosomes along microtubules, first towards the poles and subsequently towards the equator. How the opposite polarities of kinetochore motors are regulated in space and time to drive congression of peripheral chromosomes only now starts to be understood. This appears to be regulated by position-dependent phosphorylation of both Dynein and CENP-E and by spindle microtubule diversity by means of tubulin post-translational modifications. This so-called "tubulin code" might work as a navigation system that selectively guides kinetochore motors with opposite polarities along specific spindle microtubule populations, ultimately leading to the congression of peripheral chromosomes. We propose an integrated model of chromosome congression in mammalian cells that depends essentially on the following parameters: (1) chromosome position relative to the spindle poles after nuclear envelope breakdown; (2) establishment of stable end-on kinetochore-microtubule attachments and bi-orientation; (3) coordination between kinetochore- and arm-associated motors; and (4) spatial signatures associated with post-translational modifications of specific spindle microtubule populations. The physiological consequences of abnormal chromosome congression, as well as the therapeutic potential of inhibiting chromosome congression are also discussed.
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13
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Asbury CL. Anaphase A: Disassembling Microtubules Move Chromosomes toward Spindle Poles. BIOLOGY 2017; 6:E15. [PMID: 28218660 PMCID: PMC5372008 DOI: 10.3390/biology6010015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2016] [Revised: 02/04/2017] [Accepted: 02/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The separation of sister chromatids during anaphase is the culmination of mitosis and one of the most strikingly beautiful examples of cellular movement. It consists of two distinct processes: Anaphase A, the movement of chromosomes toward spindle poles via shortening of the connecting fibers, and anaphase B, separation of the two poles from one another via spindle elongation. I focus here on anaphase A chromosome-to-pole movement. The chapter begins by summarizing classical observations of chromosome movements, which support the current understanding of anaphase mechanisms. Live cell fluorescence microscopy studies showed that poleward chromosome movement is associated with disassembly of the kinetochore-attached microtubule fibers that link chromosomes to poles. Microtubule-marking techniques established that kinetochore-fiber disassembly often occurs through loss of tubulin subunits from the kinetochore-attached plus ends. In addition, kinetochore-fiber disassembly in many cells occurs partly through 'flux', where the microtubules flow continuously toward the poles and tubulin subunits are lost from minus ends. Molecular mechanistic models for how load-bearing attachments are maintained to disassembling microtubule ends, and how the forces are generated to drive these disassembly-coupled movements, are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles L Asbury
- Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
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14
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Field CM, Pelletier JF, Mitchison TJ. Xenopus extract approaches to studying microtubule organization and signaling in cytokinesis. Methods Cell Biol 2016; 137:395-435. [PMID: 28065319 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mcb.2016.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
We report optimized methods for preparing actin-intact Xenopus egg extract. This extract is minimally perturbed, undiluted egg cytoplasm where the cell cycle can be experimentally controlled. It contains abundant organelles and glycogen and supports active metabolism and cytoskeletal dynamics that closely mimic egg physiology. The concentration of the most abundant ∼11,000 proteins is known from mass spectrometry. Actin-intact egg extract can be used for analysis of actin dynamics and interaction of actin with other cytoplasmic systems, as well as microtubule organization. It can be spread as thin layers and naturally depletes oxygen though mitochondrial metabolism, which makes it ideal for fluorescence imaging. When combined with artificial lipid bilayers, it allows reconstitution and analysis of the spatially controlled signaling that positions the cleavage furrow during early cytokinesis. Actin-intact extract is generally useful for probing the biochemistry and biophysics of the large Xenopus egg. Protocols are provided for preparation of actin-intact egg extract, control of the cell cycle, fluorescent probes for cytoskeleton and cytoskeleton-dependent signaling, preparation of glass surfaces for imaging experiments, and immunodepletion to probe the role of specific proteins and protein complexes. We also describe methods for adding supported lipid bilayers to mimic the plasma membrane and for confining in microfluidic droplets to explore size scaling issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- C M Field
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, United States
| | - J F Pelletier
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, United States
| | - T J Mitchison
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, United States
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15
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Abstract
A metaphase spindle is a complex structure consisting of microtubules and a myriad of different proteins that modulate microtubule dynamics together with chromatin and kinetochores. A decade ago, a full description of spindle formation and function seemed a lofty goal. Here, we describe how work in the last 10 years combining cataloging of spindle components, the characterization of their biochemical activities using single-molecule techniques, and theory have advanced our knowledge. Taken together, these advances suggest that a full understanding of spindle assembly and function may soon be possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Reber
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, 01307 Dresden, Germany Integrative Research Institute (IRI) for the Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Anthony A Hyman
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, 01307 Dresden, Germany
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16
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Abstract
During eukaryotic cell division, chromosomes must be precisely partitioned to daughter cells. This relies on a mechanism to move chromosomes in defined directions within the parental cell. While sister chromatids are segregated from one another in mitosis and meiosis II, specific adaptations enable the segregation of homologous chromosomes during meiosis I to reduce ploidy for gamete production. Many of the factors that drive these directed chromosome movements are known, and their molecular mechanism has started to be uncovered. Here we review the mechanisms of eukaryotic chromosome segregation, with a particular emphasis on the modifications that ensure the segregation of homologous chromosomes during meiosis I.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eris Duro
- The Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, Institute of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, United Kingdom
| | - Adèle L Marston
- The Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology, Institute of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, United Kingdom
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17
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Abstract
Local interactions between the tips of microtubules and the cell cortex, or other cellular components such as kinetochores, play an important role in essential cellular processes like establishing cell polarity, distribution of organelles, and microtubule aster and chromosome positioning. Here we present two in vitro assays that specifically mimic microtubule-cortex interactions by employing selectively functionalized microfabricated barriers that allow for the immobilization of proteins with a range of affinities. We describe the microfabrication process to create gold or glass barriers and the subsequent functionalization of these barriers using self-assembled thiol monolayers or polylysine-poly(ethylene glycol), respectively. Near-permanent attachment of proteins is obtained using biotinylated surfaces combined with streptavidin and biotinylated proteins. Lower affinity interactions, further tunable with the addition of imidazole, are obtained using nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni(II)-NTA) functionalization combined with his-tagged proteins. Both mono-NTA and tris-NTA compounds are used. We show an assay to reconstitute the "end-on" interaction between dynamic microtubule tips and barrier-attached dynein, mimicking the cellular situation at the cortex and at kinetochores. In a second assay, we reconstitute microtubule-based delivery of end-tracking proteins to functionalized barriers, mimicking the transport of cell-end markers to the cell poles in interphase fission yeast cells.
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18
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Raaijmakers JA, Medema RH. Function and regulation of dynein in mitotic chromosome segregation. Chromosoma 2014; 123:407-22. [PMID: 24871939 DOI: 10.1007/s00412-014-0468-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2014] [Revised: 05/08/2014] [Accepted: 05/09/2014] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Cytoplasmic dynein is a large minus-end-directed microtubule motor complex, involved in many different cellular processes including intracellular trafficking, organelle positioning, and microtubule organization. Furthermore, dynein plays essential roles during cell division where it is implicated in multiple processes including centrosome separation, chromosome movements, spindle organization, spindle positioning, and mitotic checkpoint silencing. How is a single motor able to fulfill this large array of functions and how are these activities temporally and spatially regulated? The answer lies in the unique composition of the dynein motor and in the interactions it makes with multiple regulatory proteins that define the time and place where dynein becomes active. Here, we will focus on the different mitotic processes that dynein is involved in, and how its regulatory proteins act to support dynein. Although dynein is highly conserved amongst eukaryotes (with the exception of plants), there is significant variability in the cellular processes that depend on dynein in different species. In this review, we concentrate on the functions of cytoplasmic dynein in mammals but will also refer to data obtained in other model organisms that have contributed to our understanding of dynein function in higher eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- J A Raaijmakers
- Department of Cell Biology and Cancer Genomics Center, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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19
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Volkov VA, Zaytsev AV, Grishchuk EL. Preparation of segmented microtubules to study motions driven by the disassembling microtubule ends. J Vis Exp 2014. [PMID: 24686554 DOI: 10.3791/51150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Microtubule depolymerization can provide force to transport different protein complexes and protein-coated beads in vitro. The underlying mechanisms are thought to play a vital role in the microtubule-dependent chromosome motions during cell division, but the relevant proteins and their exact roles are ill-defined. Thus, there is a growing need to develop assays with which to study such motility in vitro using purified components and defined biochemical milieu. Microtubules, however, are inherently unstable polymers; their switching between growth and shortening is stochastic and difficult to control. The protocols we describe here take advantage of the segmented microtubules that are made with the photoablatable stabilizing caps. Depolymerization of such segmented microtubules can be triggered with high temporal and spatial resolution, thereby assisting studies of motility at the disassembling microtubule ends. This technique can be used to carry out a quantitative analysis of the number of molecules in the fluorescently-labeled protein complexes, which move processively with dynamic microtubule ends. To optimize a signal-to-noise ratio in this and other quantitative fluorescent assays, coverslips should be treated to reduce nonspecific absorption of soluble fluorescently-labeled proteins. Detailed protocols are provided to take into account the unevenness of fluorescent illumination, and determine the intensity of a single fluorophore using equidistant Gaussian fit. Finally, we describe the use of segmented microtubules to study microtubule-dependent motions of the protein-coated microbeads, providing insights into the ability of different motor and nonmotor proteins to couple microtubule depolymerization to processive cargo motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir A Volkov
- Center for Theoretical Problems of Physicochemical Pharmacology, Russian Academy of Sciences; Federal Research Center of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Anatoly V Zaytsev
- Physiology Department, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
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20
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Abstract
Accurate positioning of spindles is essential for asymmetric mitotic and meiotic cell divisions that are crucial for animal development and oocyte maturation, respectively. The predominant model for spindle positioning, termed "cortical pulling," involves attachment of the microtubule-based motor cytoplasmic dynein to the cortex, where it exerts a pulling force on microtubules that extend from the spindle poles to the cell cortex, thereby displacing the spindle. Recent studies have addressed important details of the cortical pulling mechanism and have revealed alternative mechanisms that may be used when microtubules do not extend from the spindle to the cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francis J McNally
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
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21
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Laan L, Roth S, Dogterom M. End-on microtubule-dynein interactions and pulling-based positioning of microtubule organizing centers. Cell Cycle 2012; 11:3750-7. [PMID: 22895049 PMCID: PMC3495818 DOI: 10.4161/cc.21753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
During important cellular processes such as centrosome and spindle positioning, dynein at the cortex interacts with dynamic microtubules in an apparent "end-on" fashion. It is well-established that dynein can generate forces by moving laterally along the microtubule lattice, but much less is known about dynein's interaction with dynamic microtubule ends. In this paper, we review recent in vitro experiments that show that dynein, attached to an artificial cortex, is able to capture microtubule ends, regulate microtubule dynamics and mediate the generation of pulling forces on shrinking microtubules. We further review existing ideas on the involvement of dynein-mediated cortical pulling forces in the positioning of microtubule organizing centers such as centrosomes. Recent in vitro experiments have demonstrated that cortical pulling forces in combination with pushing forces can lead to reliable centering of microtubule asters in quasi two-dimensional microfabricated chambers. In these experiments, pushing leads to slipping of microtubule ends along the chamber boundaries, resulting in an anisotropic distribution of cortical microtubule contacts that favors centering, once pulling force generators become engaged. This effect is predicted to be strongly geometry-dependent, and we therefore finally discuss ongoing efforts to repeat these experiments in three-dimensional, spherical and deformable geometries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liedewij Laan
- Faculty of Arts and Sciences; Center for Systems Biology; Harvard University; Cambridge, MA USA
| | - Sophie Roth
- FOM Institute AMOLF; Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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22
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Dumont S, Salmon ED, Mitchison TJ. Deformations within moving kinetochores reveal different sites of active and passive force generation. Science 2012; 337:355-8. [PMID: 22722252 DOI: 10.1126/science.1221886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Kinetochores mediate chromosome segregation at mitosis. They are thought to contain both active, force-producing and passive, frictional interfaces with microtubules whose relative locations have been unclear. We inferred mechanical deformation within single kinetochores during metaphase oscillations by measuring average separations between fluorescently labeled kinetochore subunits in living cells undergoing mitosis. Inter-subunit distances were shorter in kinetochores moving toward poles than in those moving away. Inter-subunit separation decreased abruptly when kinetochores switched to poleward movement and decreased further when pulling force increased, suggesting that active force generation during poleward movement compresses kinetochores. The data revealed an active force-generating interface within kinetochores and a separate passive frictional interface located at least 20 nanometers away poleward. Together, these interfaces allow persistent attachment with intermittent active force generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Dumont
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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23
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Abstract
Mitosis is the process by which eukaryotic cells organize and segregate their chromosomes in preparation for cell division. It is accomplished by a cellular machine composed largely of microtubules (MTs) and their associated proteins. This article reviews literature on mitosis from a biophysical point of view, drawing attention to the assembly and motility processes required to do this complex job with precision. Work from both the recent and the older literature is integrated into a description of relevant biological events and the experiments that probe their mechanisms. Theoretical work on specific subprocesses is also reviewed. Our goal is to provide a document that will expose biophysicists to the fascination of this quite amazing process and provide them with a good background from which they can pursue their own research interests in the subject.
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24
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Laan L, Pavin N, Husson J, Romet-Lemonne G, van Duijn M, López MP, Vale RD, Jülicher F, Reck-Peterson SL, Dogterom M. Cortical dynein controls microtubule dynamics to generate pulling forces that position microtubule asters. Cell 2012; 148:502-14. [PMID: 22304918 PMCID: PMC3292199 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2012.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 275] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2011] [Revised: 09/08/2011] [Accepted: 01/03/2012] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Dynein at the cortex contributes to microtubule-based positioning processes such as spindle positioning during embryonic cell division and centrosome positioning during fibroblast migration. To investigate how cortical dynein interacts with microtubule ends to generate force and how this functional association impacts positioning, we have reconstituted the 'cortical' interaction between dynein and dynamic microtubule ends in an in vitro system using microfabricated barriers. We show that barrier-attached dynein captures microtubule ends, inhibits growth, and triggers microtubule catastrophes, thereby controlling microtubule length. The subsequent interaction with shrinking microtubule ends generates pulling forces up to several pN. By combining experiments in microchambers with a theoretical description of aster mechanics, we show that dynein-mediated pulling forces lead to the reliable centering of microtubule asters in simple confining geometries. Our results demonstrate the intrinsic ability of cortical microtubule-dynein interactions to regulate microtubule dynamics and drive positioning processes in living cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liedewij Laan
- FOM Institute AMOLF, Science Park 104, 1098 XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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25
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McIntosh JR, Volkov V, Ataullakhanov FI, Grishchuk EL. Tubulin depolymerization may be an ancient biological motor. J Cell Sci 2011; 123:3425-34. [PMID: 20930138 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.067611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The motions of mitotic chromosomes are complex and show considerable variety across species. A wealth of evidence supports the idea that microtubule-dependent motor enzymes contribute to this variation and are important both for spindle formation and for the accurate completion of chromosome segregation. Motors that walk towards the spindle pole are, however, dispensable for at least some poleward movements of chromosomes in yeasts, suggesting that depolymerizing spindle microtubules can generate mitotic forces in vivo. Tubulin protofilaments that flare outward in association with microtubule shortening may be the origin of such forces, because they can move objects that are appropriately attached to a microtubule wall. For example, some kinetochore-associated proteins can couple experimental objects, such as microspheres, to shortening microtubules in vitro, moving them over many micrometers. Here, we review recent evidence about such phenomena, highlighting the force-generation mechanisms and different coupling strategies. We also consider bending filaments of the tubulin-like protein FtsZ, which form rings girding bacteria at their sites of cytokinesis. Mechanical similarities between these force-generation systems suggest a deep phylogenetic relationship between tubulin depolymerization in eukaryotic mitosis and FtsZ-mediated ring contraction in bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Richard McIntosh
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
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26
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Telley IA, Bieling P, Surrey T. Reconstitution and quantification of dynamic microtubule end tracking in vitro using TIRF microscopy. Methods Mol Biol 2011; 777:127-45. [PMID: 21773926 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-61779-252-6_10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Several microtubule-associated proteins localize in living cells selectively to an extended region at the growing microtubule plus ends. Over the last years, these plus-end-tracking proteins, also called +TIPs, have attracted considerable interest because they are involved in a large variety of essential intracellular processes. GFP-labeled versions of EB proteins are also often used as markers for intracellular microtubule organization and dynamics. The mechanism of selective +TIP binding to the end region of growing microtubule was unknown. Recently, the phenomenon of end tracking was reconstituted in vitro from purified proteins, which allowed the identification of EB proteins as the minimal core of the plus-end-tracking system and the dissection of the molecular mechanism of end tracking by these proteins. This in vitro reconstitution has started to be widely used for several +TIPs and promises to provide mechanistic insight into the functioning of the dynamic +TIP network at growing microtubule ends. Here, we describe the purification of EB1 and CLIP-170, the total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy assay to observe dynamic end tracking in vitro, and the quantitative analysis of fluorescent +TIP comet shape and of single +TIP molecule turnover at growing microtubule ends.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivo A Telley
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
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27
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Alushin GM, Ramey VH, Pasqualato S, Ball DA, Grigorieff N, Musacchio A, Nogales E. The Ndc80 kinetochore complex forms oligomeric arrays along microtubules. Nature 2010; 467:805-10. [PMID: 20944740 PMCID: PMC2957311 DOI: 10.1038/nature09423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 228] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2010] [Accepted: 08/13/2010] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The Ndc80 complex is a key site of regulated kinetochore-microtubule attachment, but the molecular mechanism underlying its function remains unknown. Here we present a subnanometer resolution cryo-electron microscopy reconstruction of the human Ndc80 complex bound to microtubules, sufficient for precise docking of crystal structures of the component proteins. We find that Ndc80 binds the microtubule with a tubulin monomer repeat, recognizing α- and β-tubulin at both intra- and inter-dimer interfaces in a manner that is sensitive to tubulin conformation. Furthermore, Ndc80 complexes self-associate along protofilaments via interactions mediated by the amino-terminal tail of the Ndc80 protein, the site of phospho-regulation by the Aurora B kinase. Ndc80's mode of interaction with the microtubule and its oligomerization suggest a mechanism by which Aurora B could regulate the stability of load-bearing Ndc80-microtubule attachments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory M Alushin
- Biophysics Graduate Group, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
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28
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In vitro assays to study the tracking of shortening microtubule ends and to measure associated forces. Methods Cell Biol 2010; 95:657-76. [PMID: 20466158 DOI: 10.1016/s0091-679x(10)95033-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/22/2023]
Abstract
Accurate segregation of mitotic chromosomes relies in part on a strong linkage between the kinetochores and the plus ends of spindle microtubules (MTs). These attachments are maintained even as the MTs shorten from their kinetochore-associated ends, and despite the large variability in the magnitude of load from the chromosomal "cargo." Analysis of the underlying mechanisms has recently been facilitated by the identification and purification of various kinetochore complexes. In this chapter we review some existing approaches to study the interaction of these protein complexes with the ends of shortening MTs in vitro. Specifically, we describe the application of a "segmented" MT technique, which allows quantitative characterization of the tracking of the shortening MT ends by fluorescent proteins and protein-coated beads, as well as controlled measurement of the associated forces. There is a marked similarity between these methods and the approaches that are used to study the motions and forces produced by ATP-dependent motor enzymes walking on coverslip-attached, stable MTs. However, optical resolution at the shortening ends of coverslip-tethered MTs is not as good and the thermal noise is high. Furthermore, there are significant differences in the mechanisms of motions of microbeads driven by motors and by MT depolymerization, as well as in the interpretation of the resulting forces. Clearly, the depolymerization-driven motions are difficult to study and the corresponding phenomenology and theories are more complex than in the motors field. We hope, however, that the relatively straightforward assays based on "segmented" MTs, which are described below, will become a routine methodology, thereby helping to advance the studies of the MT-depolymerization-dependent motility.
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29
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Civelekoglu-Scholey G, Scholey JM. Mitotic force generators and chromosome segregation. Cell Mol Life Sci 2010; 67:2231-50. [PMID: 20221784 PMCID: PMC2883081 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-010-0326-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2010] [Accepted: 02/17/2010] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
The mitotic spindle uses dynamic microtubules and mitotic motors to generate the pico-Newton scale forces that are needed to drive the mitotic movements that underlie chromosome capture, alignment and segregation. Here, we consider the biophysical and molecular basis of force-generation for chromosome movements in the spindle, and, with reference to the Drosophila embryo mitotic spindle, we briefly discuss how mathematical modeling can complement experimental analysis to illuminate the mechanisms of chromosome-to-pole motility during anaphase A and spindle elongation during anaphase B.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gul Civelekoglu-Scholey
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Davis, 149 Briggs Hall, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Jonathan M. Scholey
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Davis, 149 Briggs Hall, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 USA
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30
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Abstract
For over a century, scientists have strived to understand the mechanisms that govern the accurate segregation of chromosomes during mitosis. The most intriguing feature of this process, which is particularly prominent in higher eukaryotes, is the complex behaviour exhibited by the chromosomes. This behaviour is based on specific and highly regulated interactions between the chromosomes and spindle microtubules. Recent discoveries, enabled by high-resolution imaging combined with the various genetic, molecular, cell biological and chemical tools, support the idea that establishing and controlling the dynamic interaction between chromosomes and microtubules is a major factor in genomic fidelity.
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31
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Joglekar AP, Bloom KS, Salmon ED. Mechanisms of force generation by end-on kinetochore-microtubule attachments. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2010; 22:57-67. [PMID: 20061128 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2009.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2009] [Revised: 11/30/2009] [Accepted: 12/15/2009] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Generation of motile force is one of the main functions of the eukaryotic kinetochore during cell division. In recent years, the KMN network of proteins (Ndc80 complex, Mis12 complex, and KNL-1 complex) has emerged as a highly conserved core microtubule-binding complex at the kinetochore. It plays a major role in coupling force generation to microtubule plus-end polymerization and depolymerization. In this review, we discuss current theoretical mechanisms of force generation, and then focus on emerging information about mechanistic contributions from the Ndc80 complex in eukaryotes and the microtubule-binding Dam1/DASH complex from fungi. New information has also become available from super-resolution light microscopy on the protein architecture of the kinetochore-microtubule attachment site in both budding yeast and humans, which provides further insight into the mechanism of force generation. We briefly discuss potential contributions of motors, other microtubule-associated proteins, and microtubule depolymerases. Using the above evidence, we present speculative models of force generation at the kinetochore.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajit P Joglekar
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3280, United States.
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32
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Abstract
Cytoskeletal systems are networks of polymers found in all eukaryotic and many prokaryotic cells. Their purpose is to transmit and integrate information across cellular dimensions and help turn a disorderly mob of macromolecules into a spatially organized, living cell. Information, in this context, includes physical and chemical properties relevant to cellular physiology, including: the number and activity of macromolecules, cell shape, and mechanical force. Most animal cells are 10-50 microns in diameter, whereas the macromolecules that comprise them are 10,000-fold smaller (2-20 nm). To establish long-range order over cellular length scales, individual molecules must, therefore, self-assemble into larger polymers, with lengths (0.1-20 m) comparable to the size of a cell. These polymers must then be cross-linked into organized networks that fill the cytoplasm. Such cell-spanning polymer networks enable different parts of the cytoplasm to communicate directly with each other, either by transmitting forces or by carrying cargo from one spot to another.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Dyche Mullins
- N312F Genentech Hall, UCSF School of Medicine, 600 16th Street, San Francisco, California 94158, USA.
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33
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Laan L, Dogterom M. In vitro assays to study force generation at dynamic microtubule ends. Methods Cell Biol 2010; 95:617-39. [PMID: 20466156 DOI: 10.1016/s0091-679x(10)95031-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Biopolymers are essential for cellular organization. They bridge the cell interior, forming a framework that is used as a reference for different cellular organelles. Interestingly, this framework called the cytoskeleton is not static but constantly reorganizes. The dynamics of the cytoskeleton allows the cell to rearrange its interior for various processes such as cell division. This dynamic reorganization relies at least partly on forces that arise from assembly and disassembly of the cytoskeletal polymers. In many cases, these forces are generated when cytoskeletal polymers interact with the cell boundary. This chapter focuses on force generation by and regulation of microtubules (MTs) that interact with opposing barriers. In this chapter we describe four in vitro assays to study how MT interactions with the cell boundary play a role in cellular organization. In our minimal systems, (functionalized) microfabricated barriers mimic cell boundaries. We carefully design experiments where we grow MTs against these microfabricated structures to study a specific cellular process. Furthermore in this chapter different methods and assays necessary to realize these in vitro experiments are described. Section II describes the materials used, and Section III elaborates on the microfabrication. In Section III.C we explain how we specifically label our microfabricated structures, and in Section III.D we present how these functionalized microfabricated structures are incorporated into assays, with a discussion of the details of the assays themselves. Finally in Section IV we give examples of data obtained with these assays, and in Section V we discuss the assays in a general context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liedewij Laan
- FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics, Science Park 104, 1098 XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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34
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Abstract
The mitotic spindle assembles to a steady-state length at metaphase through the integrated action of molecular mechanisms that generate and respond to mechanical forces. While molecular mechanisms that produce force have been described, our understanding of how they integrate with each other, and with the assembly/disassembly mechanisms that regulate length, is poor. We review current understanding of the basic architecture and dynamics of the metaphase spindle, and some of the elementary force-producing mechanisms. We then discuss models for force integration and spindle length determination. We also emphasize key missing data that notably include absolute values of forces and how they vary as a function of position within the spindle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Dumont
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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35
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Abstract
Kinetochores are large protein assemblies built on chromosomal loci named centromeres. The main functions of kinetochores can be grouped under four modules. The first module, in the inner kinetochore, contributes a sturdy interface with centromeric chromatin. The second module, the outer kinetochore, contributes a microtubule-binding interface. The third module, the spindle assembly checkpoint, is a feedback control mechanism that monitors the state of kinetochore-microtubule attachment to control the progression of the cell cycle. The fourth module discerns correct from improper attachments, preventing the stabilization of the latter and allowing the selective stabilization of the former. In this review, we discuss how the molecular organization of the four modules allows a dynamic integration of kinetochore-microtubule attachment with the prevention of chromosome segregation errors and cell-cycle progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Santaguida
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy
| | - Andrea Musacchio
- Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy
- Research Unit of the Italian Institute of Technology at the IFOM-IEO Campus, Milan, Italy
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36
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Powers AF, Franck AD, Gestaut DR, Cooper J, Gracyzk B, Wei RR, Wordeman L, Davis TN, Asbury CL. The Ndc80 kinetochore complex forms load-bearing attachments to dynamic microtubule tips via biased diffusion. Cell 2009; 136:865-75. [PMID: 19269365 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2008.12.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 220] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2008] [Revised: 10/29/2008] [Accepted: 12/30/2008] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Kinetochores couple chromosomes to the assembling and disassembling tips of microtubules, a dynamic behavior that is fundamental to mitosis in all eukaryotes but poorly understood. Genetic, biochemical, and structural studies implicate the Ndc80 complex as a direct point of contact between kinetochores and microtubules, but these approaches provide only a static view. Here, using techniques for manipulating and tracking individual molecules in vitro, we demonstrate that the Ndc80 complex is capable of forming the dynamic, load-bearing attachments to assembling and disassembling tips required for coupling in vivo. We also establish that Ndc80-based coupling likely occurs through a biased diffusion mechanism and that this activity is conserved from yeast to humans. Our findings demonstrate how an ensemble of Ndc80 complexes may provide the combination of plasticity and strength that allows kinetochores to maintain load-bearing tip attachments during both microtubule assembly and disassembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew F Powers
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195, USA
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37
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Structure of the kinesin13-microtubule ring complex. Structure 2009; 16:1732-9. [PMID: 19000825 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2008.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2008] [Revised: 08/29/2008] [Accepted: 08/30/2008] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
To investigate the mechanism of kinesin13-induced microtubule depolymerization, we have calculated a three-dimensional (3D) map of the kinesin13-microtubule ring complex, using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and image analysis. An atomic model of the complex was produced by docking the crystal structures of tubulin and a kinesin13 motor domain (MD) into the 3D map. The model reveals a snapshot of the depolymerization mechanism by providing a 3D view of the complex formed between the kinesin13 MD and a curved tubulin protofilament (pf). It suggests that contacts mediated by kinesin13 class-specific residues in the putative microtubule-binding site stabilize intra-dimer tubulin curvature. In addition, a tubulin-binding site on the kinesin13 MD was identified. Mutations at this class-conserved site selectively disrupt the formation of microtubule-associated ring complexes.
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38
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Grissom PM, Fiedler T, Grishchuk EL, Nicastro D, West RR, McIntosh JR. Kinesin-8 from fission yeast: a heterodimeric, plus-end-directed motor that can couple microtubule depolymerization to cargo movement. Mol Biol Cell 2008; 20:963-72. [PMID: 19037096 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e08-09-0979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Fission yeast expresses two kinesin-8s, previously identified and characterized as products of the klp5(+) and klp6(+) genes. These polypeptides colocalize throughout the vegetative cell cycle as they bind cytoplasmic microtubules during interphase, spindle microtubules, and/or kinetochores during early mitosis, and the interpolar spindle as it elongates in anaphase B. Here, we describe in vitro properties of these motor proteins and some truncated versions expressed in either bacteria or Sf9 cells. The motor-plus-neck domain of Klp6p formed soluble dimers that cross-linked microtubules and showed both microtubule-activated ATPase and plus-end-directed motor activities. Full-length Klp5p and Klp6p, coexpressed in Sf9 cells, formed soluble heterodimers with the same activities. The latter recombinant protein could also couple microbeads to the ends of shortening microtubules and use energy from tubulin depolymerization to pull a load in the minus end direction. These results, together with the spindle localizations of these proteins in vivo and their requirement for cell viability in the absence of the Dam1/DASH kinetochore complex, support the hypothesis that fission yeast kinesin-8 contributes both to chromosome congression to the metaphase plate and to the coupling of spindle microtubules to kinetochores during anaphase A.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula M Grissom
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0347, USA
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McIntosh JR, Grishchuk EL, Morphew MK, Efremov AK, Zhudenkov K, Volkov VA, Cheeseman IM, Desai A, Mastronarde DN, Ataullakhanov FI. Fibrils connect microtubule tips with kinetochores: a mechanism to couple tubulin dynamics to chromosome motion. Cell 2008; 135:322-33. [PMID: 18957206 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2008.08.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 176] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2008] [Revised: 06/16/2008] [Accepted: 08/26/2008] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Kinetochores of mitotic chromosomes are coupled to spindle microtubules in ways that allow the energy from tubulin dynamics to drive chromosome motion. Most kinetochore-associated microtubule ends display curving "protofilaments," strands of tubulin dimers that bend away from the microtubule axis. Both a kinetochore "plate" and an encircling, ring-shaped protein complex have been proposed to link protofilament bending to poleward chromosome motion. Here we show by electron tomography that slender fibrils connect curved protofilaments directly to the inner kinetochore. Fibril-protofilament associations correlate with a local straightening of the flared protofilaments. Theoretical analysis reveals that protofilament-fibril connections would be efficient couplers for chromosome motion, and experimental work on two very different kinetochore components suggests that filamentous proteins can couple shortening microtubules to cargo movements. These analyses define a ring-independent mechanism for harnessing microtubule dynamics directly to chromosome movement.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Richard McIntosh
- Department of M.C.D. Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0347, USA.
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Different assemblies of the DAM1 complex follow shortening microtubules by distinct mechanisms. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2008; 105:6918-23. [PMID: 18460602 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0801811105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Mitotic chromosomes segregate at the ends of shortening spindle microtubules (MTs). In budding yeast, the Dam1 multiprotein complex supports this dynamic attachment, thereby contributing to accurate chromosome segregation. Purified Dam1 will track the end of a depolymerizing MT and can couple it to microbead transport in vitro. The processivity of such motions has been thought to depend on rings that the Dam1 complex can form around MTs, but the possibility that alternative coupling geometries contribute to these motilities has not been considered. Here, we demonstrate that both rings and nonencircling Dam1 oligomers can track MT ends and enable processive cargo movement in vitro. The coupling properties of these two assemblies are, however, quite different, so each may make a distinct contribution to chromosome motility.
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Gönczy P. Mechanisms of asymmetric cell division: flies and worms pave the way. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2008; 9:355-66. [PMID: 18431399 DOI: 10.1038/nrm2388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 386] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Asymmetric cell division is fundamental for generating diversity in multicellular organisms. The mechanisms that govern asymmetric cell division are increasingly well understood, owing notably to studies that were conducted in Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans. Lessons learned from these two model organisms also apply to cells that divide asymmetrically in other metazoans, such as self-renewing stem cells in mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Gönczy
- Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), School of Life Sciences, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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Kim Y, Heuser JE, Waterman CM, Cleveland DW. CENP-E combines a slow, processive motor and a flexible coiled coil to produce an essential motile kinetochore tether. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008; 181:411-9. [PMID: 18443223 PMCID: PMC2364708 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.200802189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
The mitotic kinesin centromere protein E (CENP-E) is an essential kinetochore component that directly contributes to the capture and stabilization of spindle microtubules by kinetochores. Although reduction in CENP-E leads to high rates of whole chromosome missegregation, neither its properties as a microtubule-dependent motor nor how it contributes to the dynamic linkage between kinetochores and microtubules is known. Using single-molecule assays, we demonstrate that CENP-E is a very slow, highly processive motor that maintains microtubule attachment for long periods. Direct visualization of full-length Xenopus laevis CENP-E reveals a highly flexible 230-nm coiled coil separating its kinetochore-binding and motor domains. We also show that full-length CENP-E is a slow plus end–directed motor whose activity is essential for metaphase chromosome alignment. We propose that the highly processive microtubule-dependent motor activity of CENP-E serves to power chromosome congression and provides a flexible, motile tether linking kinetochores to dynamic spindle microtubules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yumi Kim
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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Molodtsov MI, Grishchuk EL, McIntosh JR, Ataullakhanov FI. Measurement of the force developed by disassembling microtubule during calcium-induced depolymerization. DOKL BIOCHEM BIOPHYS 2008; 412:18-21. [PMID: 17506346 DOI: 10.1134/s1607672907010061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M I Molodtsov
- Hematology Research Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow 125167, Russia
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44
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Abstract
This unit describes an in vitro assay that uses video-enhanced differential interference contrast (VE-DIC) microscopy to examine the motile interactions between isolated organelle fractions and microtubules (MTs). The method can be used to dissect the molecular requirements for organelle movement and membrane trafficking. A field of axoneme-nucleated MTs, growing and shortening as they would in a living cell (dynamic MTs), is generated in a simple microscope perfusion chamber. Various combinations of isolated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi apparatus organelles, cytosol containing motor proteins and other soluble factors, nucleotides, and specific pharmacological reagents are then added to the dynamic MT, and the motile interactions between the organelles and MTs are observed by VE-DIC microscopy.
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Walczak CE, Heald R. Mechanisms of mitotic spindle assembly and function. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF CYTOLOGY 2008; 265:111-58. [PMID: 18275887 DOI: 10.1016/s0074-7696(07)65003-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 290] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The mitotic spindle is the macromolecular machine that segregates chromosomes to two daughter cells during mitosis. The major structural elements of the spindle are microtubule polymers, whose intrinsic polarity and dynamic properties are critical for bipolar spindle organization and function. In most cell types, spindle microtubule nucleation occurs primarily at two centrosomes, which define the spindle poles, but microtubules can also be generated by the chromosomes and within the spindle itself. Many associated factors help organize the spindle, including molecular motors and regulators of microtubule dynamics. The past decade has provided a wealth of information on the molecular players that are critical for spindle assembly as well as a high-resolution view of the intricate movements and dynamics of the spindle microtubules and the chromosomes. In this chapter we provide a historical account of the key observations leading to current models of spindle assembly, as well as an up-to-date status report on this exciting field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire E Walczak
- Medical Sciences Program, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
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In search of an optimal ring to couple microtubule depolymerization to processive chromosome motions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2007; 104:19017-22. [PMID: 18029449 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0709524104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Mitotic chromosome motions are driven by microtubules (MTs) and associated proteins that couple kinetochores to MT ends. A good coupler should ensure a high stability of attachment, even when the chromosome changes direction or experiences a large opposing force. The optimal coupler is also expected to be efficient in converting the energy of MT depolymerization into chromosome motility. As was shown years ago, a "sleeve"-based, chromosome-associated structure could, in principle, couple MT dynamics to chromosome motion. A recently identified kinetochore complex from yeast, the "Dam1" or "DASH" complex, may function as an encircling coupler in vivo. Some features of the Dam1 ring differ from those of the "sleeve," but whether these differences are significant has not been examined. Here, we analyze theoretically the biomechanical properties of encircling couplers that have properties of the Dam1/DASH complex, such as its large diameter and inward-directed extensions. We demonstrate that, if the coupler is modeled as a wide ring with links that bind the MT wall, its optimal performance is achieved when the linkers are flexible and their binding to tubulin dimers is strong. The diffusive movement of such a coupler is limited, but MT depolymerization can drive its motion via a "forced walk," whose features differ significantly from those of the mechanisms based on biased diffusion. Our analysis identifies key experimental parameters whose values should determine whether the Dam1/DASH ring moves via diffusion or a forced walk.
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Molodtsov MI, Grishchuk EL, McIntosh JR, Ataullakhanov FI. A new type of biomechanical driver. RUSS J GEN CHEM+ 2007. [DOI: 10.1134/s1070363207110308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Abstract
The kinetochore is a key cell division organelle that enables high-fidelity transmission of genetic information by coupling chromosomes to spindle microtubules during mitosis and meiosis. Despite its cytological description more than a century ago, remarkably little information is available on kinetochore function at a molecular level. Recently, important advances elucidating the overall organization of kinetochores, as well as information about the structures and molecular mechanisms of kinetochore function, have been achieved through a detailed analysis of the kinetochores of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here we review the current understanding of kinetochore function in budding yeast and draw comparisons to recent findings in other organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Westermann
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
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Abstract
"Mitosis: Spindle Assembly and Function," a conference in honor of Dr. Bill R. Brinkley, brought together many researchers to discuss progress in the field and celebrate the many contributions that Dr. Brinkley has made.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Heald
- Molecular and Cell Biology Department, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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Grishchuk EL, McIntosh JR. Microtubule depolymerization can drive poleward chromosome motion in fission yeast. EMBO J 2006; 25:4888-96. [PMID: 17036054 PMCID: PMC1618090 DOI: 10.1038/sj.emboj.7601353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2006] [Accepted: 08/23/2006] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Prometaphase kinetochores interact with spindle microtubules (MTs) to establish chromosome bi-orientation. Before becoming bi-oriented, chromosomes frequently exhibit poleward movements (P-movements), which are commonly attributed to minus end-directed, MT-dependent motors. In fission yeast there are three such motors: dynein and two kinesin-14s, Pkl1p and Klp2p. None of these enzymes is essential for viability, and even the triple deletion grows well. This might be due to the fact that yeasts kinetochores are normally juxtapolar at mitosis onset, removing the need for poleward chromosome movement during prometaphase. Anaphase P-movement might also be dispensable in a spindle that elongates significantly. To test this supposition, we have analyzed kinetochore dynamics in cells whose kinetochore-pole connections have been dispersed. In cells recovering from this condition, the maximum rate of poleward kinetochore movement was unaffected by the deletion of any or all of these motors, strongly suggesting that other factors, like MT depolymerization, can cause such movements in vivo. However, Klp2p, which localizes to kinetochores, contributed to the effectiveness of P-movement by promoting the shortening of kinetochore fibers.
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