Microtubule-membrane interactions in cilia. II. Photochemical cross-linking of bridge structures and the identification of a membrane-associated dynein-like ATPase

Central Apparatus, the Molecular Kickstarter of Ciliary and Flagellar Nanomachines

Motile cilia and homologous organelles, the flagella, are an early evolutionarily invention, enabling primitive eukaryotic cells to survive and reproduce. In animals, cilia have undergone functional and structural speciation giving raise to typical motile cilia, motile nodal cilia, and sensory immotile cilia. In contrast to other cilia types, typical motile cilia are able to beat in complex, two-phase movements. Moreover, they contain many additional structures, including central apparatus, composed of two single microtubules connected by a bridge-like structure and assembling numerous complexes called projections. A growing body of evidence supports the important role of the central apparatus in the generation and regulation of the motile cilia movement. Here we review data concerning the central apparatus structure, protein composition, and the significance of its components in ciliary beating regulation.

Analysis from the perspective of cilia: the protective effect of PARP inhibitors on visual function during light-induced damage

PURPOSE

To analyze the protective effect of PARP inhibitors on light-damaged retina and explore its possible mechanism from the perspective of ciliopathy.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature was performed to investigate the protection of PARP inhibition on light-damaged cilia. PubMed database was retrieved to find the relevant studies and 119 literatures were involved in the review.

RESULTS

In retina, the outer segment of photoreceptor is regarded as a special type of primary cilium, so various retinal diseases actually belong to a type of ciliopathy. The retina is the only central nervous tissue exposed to light, but poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), as a nuclear enzyme repairing DNA breaks, is overactivated during the light-induced DNA damage, and is involved in the cell death cascade. Studies show that both ATR and phosphorylated Akt colocalize with cilium and play an important role in regulating ciliary function. PARP may function at ATR or PI3K/Akt signal to exert protective effect on cilia.

CONCLUSION

PARP inhibitors may protect the cilia/OS of photoreceptor during light-induced damage, which the possible mechanism may be involved in the activation of ATR and PI3K/Akt signal.

Proteomic analysis of the cilia membrane of Paramecium tetraurelia

Channels, pumps, receptors, cyclases and other membrane proteins modulate the motility and sensory function of cilia, but these proteins are generally under-represented in proteomic analyses of cilia. Studies of these ciliary membrane proteins would benefit from a protocol to greatly enrich for integral and lipidated membrane proteins. We used LC-MS/MS to compare the proteomes of unfractionated cilia (C), the ciliary membrane (CM) and the ciliary membrane in the detergent phase (DP) of Triton X-114 phase separation. 55% of the proteins in DP were membrane proteins (i.e. predicted transmembrane or membrane-associated through lipid modifications) and 31% were transmembrane. This is to be compared to 23% membrane proteins with 9% transmembrane in CM and 9% membrane proteins with 3% transmembrane in C. 78% of the transmembrane proteins in the DP were found uniquely in DP, and not in C or CM. There were ion channels, cyclases, plasma membrane pumps, Ca(2+) dependent protein kinases, and Rab GTPases involved in the signal transduction in DP that were not identified in the other C and CM preparations. Of 267 proteins unique to the DP, 147 were novel, i.e. not found in other proteomic and genomic studies of cilia.

Mass-spectrometric identification of interaction sites for cytochrome P450 2b4/nadph cytochrome P450 reductase

We determined the interaction sites of the cytochrome P450's protein-partners: 2B4 (d-2B4) and NADPH-cytochrome P450 of reductase (d-Fp). While in operation, these proteins are forming the complexes. We used 4-4'-dithio(bisphenyl)azide linker for non-specific covalent coupling of d-2B4 complexes with d-Fp in Emulgen-913 - monomerized system. Covalently-linked peptides in this complex were identified with ESI-MS/MS. Several sites of these proteins' binding with each other were revealed. Based on them, a model of intermolecular protein interactions was created. The model includes 5 cross-linker-stabilized contact sites of d-2B4 with d-Fp involving the following peptides of d-2B4 and d-Fp: 1) d-2B4423-433 и d-Fp 102-109; 2) d-2B4324-336 и d-Fp570-585; 3) d-2B4327-336 и d-Fp452-464; 4) d-2B4 192-197 и d-Fp456-464; 5) d-2B4 134-139 и d-Fp406-425.Herein, in the latter two cases, the peptides of d-Fp are located in their inter-domain slit and stabilize protein-protein complex via nanoprobe cross-linker; therefore, the formation of d-2B4/d-Fp complexes in these sites may involve aminoacid residues d-Fp456-464 and d-Fp406-425 surrounding inter-domain slit.

Plasma membrane tubulin

The association of tubulin with the plasma membrane comprises multiple levels of penetration into the bilayer: from integral membrane protein, to attachment via palmitoylation, to surface binding, and to microtubules attached by linker proteins to proteins in the membrane. Here we discuss the soundness and weaknesses of the chemical and biochemical evidence marshaled to support these associations, as well as the mechanisms by which tubulin or microtubules may regulate functions at the plasma membrane.

Flagellar membrane localization via association with lipid rafts

The eukaryotic flagellar membrane has a distinct composition from other domains of the plasmalemma. Our work shows that the specialized composition of the trypanosome flagellar membrane reflects increased concentrations of sterols and saturated fatty acids, correlating with direct observation of high liquid order by laurdan fluorescence microscopy. These findings indicate that the trypanosome flagellar membrane possesses high concentrations of lipid rafts: discrete regions of lateral heterogeneity in plasma membranes that serve to sequester and organize specialized protein complexes. Consistent with this, a dually acylated Ca(2+) sensor that is concentrated in the flagellum is found in detergent-resistant membranes and mislocalizes if the lipid rafts are disrupted. Detergent-extracted cells have discrete membrane patches localized on the surface of the flagellar axoneme, suggestive of intraflagellar transport particles. Together, these results provide biophysical and biochemical evidence to indicate that lipid rafts are enriched in the trypanosome flagellar membrane, providing a unique mechanism for flagellar protein localization and illustrating a novel means by which specialized cellular functions may be partitioned to discrete membrane domains.

Intraflagellar transport (IFT) during assembly and disassembly of Chlamydomonas flagella

Intraflagellar transport (IFT) of particles along flagellar microtubules is required for the assembly and maintenance of eukaryotic flagella and cilia. In Chlamydomonas, anterograde and retrograde particles viewed by light microscopy average 0.12-microm and 0.06-microm diameter, respectively. Examination of IFT particle structure in growing flagella by electron microscopy revealed similar size aggregates composed of small particles linked to each other and to the membrane and microtubules. To determine the relationship between the number of particles and flagellar length, the rate and frequency of IFT particle movement was measured in nongrowing, growing, and shortening flagella. In all flagella, anterograde and retrograde IFT averaged 1.9 microm/s and 2.7 microm/s, respectively, but retrograde IFT was significantly slower in flagella shorter than 4 mum. The number of flagellar IFT particles was not fixed, but depended on flagellar length. Pauses in IFT particle entry into flagella suggest the presence of a periodic "gate" that permits up to 4 particles/s to enter a flagellum.

Regulation of mammalian ciliary beating

Recent advances in our understanding of the structure-function relationship of motile cilia with the 9 + 2 microtubular arrangement have helped explain some of the mechanisms of ciliary beat regulation by intracellular second messengers. These second messengers include cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) as well as calcium and pH. cAMP activates protein kinase A (PKA), which is localized to the axoneme. The cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of PKA's main target, originally described as p29 in Paramecium, seems to increase ciliary beat frequency (CBF) directly. The mechanism by which cGMP increases CBF is less well defined but involves protein kinase G and possibly PKA. Protein kinase C inhibits ciliary beating. The regulation mechanisms of CBF by calcium remain somewhat controversial, favoring an immediate, direct action of calcium on ciliary beating and a second cyclic nucleotide-dependent phase. Finally, intracellular pH likely affects CBF through direct influences on dynein arms.

Ciliary protein turnover continues in the presence of inhibitors of golgi function: evidence for membrane protein pools and unconventional intracellular membrane dynamics

The intimate association of the Golgi apparatus with cilia suggests a functional alliance. To explore the relationship between the synthesis and processing of membrane constituents and the turnover or regeneration of cilia, parallel cultures of gastrula-stage sea urchin embryos were pulse-chase labeled with (3)H-leucine in the presence of monensin, brefeldin A, or colchicine. Steady-state labeled cilia were isolated, and the embryos were allowed to regenerate cilia, which were then isolated after the equivalent of two normal regeneration times. Regeneration was absent in colchicine, minimal in monensin, and inhibited about 40% by brefeldin A. Both monensin and brefeldin A effectively inhibited the post-translational processing of prominent phosphatidylinositoylated and palmitoylated membrane proteins and the axoneme-associated transmembrane Spec3 protein, yet most other membrane plus matrix and 9+2 axonemal proteins were labeled to levels indistinguishable from untreated controls. However, total protein analysis of the membrane plus matrix fractions showed a substantial increase in glycoproteins and the calsequestrin-like protein ECaSt/PDI after treatment at steady-state with all three inhibitors and after regeneration in brefeldin A. Other constituents of this compartment, such as membrane-associated tubulin, calmodulin, and a 53-kDa calcium-binding protein, were unchanged. Therefore, inhibition of Golgi function via three different mechanisms left 9+2 protein turnover undiminished but resulted in an accumulation, in the cilium, of already-processed membrane pool constituents and a normally ER-resident protein. A disproportionate elevation of HSP70 suggests that a novel stress response may be involved in inhibiting ciliary regeneration or promoting glycoprotein augmentation.

Physical characterization and ATPase activity of 14S dynein fractions from Tetrahymena thermophila

Using anion-exchange fast protein liquid chromatography, 14S dynein was separated into four fractions (designated 1-4). These fractions were distinguished with respect to polypeptide composition, and at least four unique heavy chains were identified. Each fraction was shown to exhibit ATPase activity. Fraction 2 has a specific activity 2-3 times greater than that of fractions 1, 3, and 4; the fractions showed a consistent trend of decreasing activity in the order 2 > 3 > 1 > 4. In all cases, the specific ATPase activity was reduced by high ionic strength, in contrast to 22S dynein, which was previously shown to exhibit increased activity under identical conditions. Electron microscopy analysis revealed that the four fractions of 14S dynein were structurally distinct. Fraction 1 comprises two globular head domains interconnected via two stems; fraction 2 consists of at least two clearly different globular structures; fraction 3 is a single globular head; and fraction 4 comprises three globular head domains interconnected by three stems to a basal structure. Further structural characterization using hydrodynamic techniques enabled a determination of mass and sedimentation coefficient for each fraction. Fraction 1 had a mass of 654 kDa and a sedimentation coefficient of 20.1 S. Fraction 2 had a variable mass due to association (616-966 kDa), and a sedimentation coefficient of 16.6 S, whereas fractions 3 and 4 had variable sedimentation coefficients but were of mass 701 kDa and 527 kDa respectively. Where possible, hydrodynamic parameters were utilized, in conjunction with electron microscopy data, to construct low-resolution hydrodynamic bead models to represent the fractions. Optimal models, which were consistent with all the available data, were produced for fractions 1 and 4. Bead modelling was also carried out for 22S dynein, using previously published data, to validate the 14S dynein modelling.

Electrodynamics of microtubular motors: the building blocks of a new model

Microtubules are ubiquitous components of the cytoskeleton. They participate in many motility processes ranging from intracellular transport or chromosome movement during mitosis to ciliary and flagellar beating. The biophysical mechanism inherent in the generation and control of movement in all these motility phenomena has not yet been entirely elucidated. The authors propose a new model based on a charge transfer mechanism capable of shedding a new light on the molecular foundations of all motility processes. Electron transfer along the microtubular lattice is responsible for activation and control of all microtubule-associated ATPases (i.e. force generating enzymes). Microtubules are thus shown to be the basic motors of cell dynamics. The model is first applied to intracellular transport and ciliary and flagellar beating. Through two additional examples, the authors show the heuristic capabilities of the suggested hypothesis. The application of charge transfer control to the Protozoan Euglena gracilis leads to a plausible model capable of accounting for its phototactic response mechanism. Furthermore, the model allows a new interpretation of the electrophysiological response in vertebrate photoreceptors.

Phylogeny and expression of axonemal and cytoplasmic dynein genes in sea urchins

Transcripts approximately 14.5 kilobases in length from 14 different genes that encode for dynein heavy chains have been identified in poly(A)+ RNA from sea urchin embryos. Analysis of the changes in level of these dynein transcripts in response to deciliation, together with their sequence relatedness, suggests that 11 or more of these genes encode dynein isoforms that participate in regeneration of external cilia on the embryo, whereas the single gene whose deduced sequence closely resembles that of cytoplasmic dynein in other organisms appears not to be involved in this regeneration. The four consensus motifs for phosphate binding found previously in the beta heavy chain of sea urchin dynein are present in all five additional isoforms for which extended sequences have been obtained, suggesting that these sites play a significant role in dynein function. Sequence analysis of a approximately 400 amino acid region encompassing the putative hydrolytic ATP-binding site shows that the dynein genes fall into at least six distinct classes. Most of these classes in sea urchin have a high degree of sequence identity with one of the dynein heavy chain genes identified in Drosophila, indicating that the radiation of the dynein gene family into the present classes occurred at an early stage in the evolution of eukaryotes. Evolutionary changes in cytoplasmic dynein have been more constrained than those in the axonemal dyneins.

Protein kinase C-dependent phosphorylation of a ciliary membrane protein and inhibition of ciliary beating

The present study examined whether protein kinase C phosphorylated a ciliary protein and whether this phosphorylation event was temporally correlated with a decrease in ciliary beat frequency. Activation of protein kinase C decreased ciliary beat frequency of sheep tracheal epithelium, an effect fully blockable by pretreatment of the tissue pieces with H-7, a protein kinase inhibitor. Using cilia removed from these epithelial surfaces and incubated in solutions containing stimulators of protein kinase C along with [gamma-32P]ATP or [gamma-35S]ATP, a single protein target of ciliary protein kinase C activity was identified. The protein is a polypeptide of molecular mass 37 kDa (p37) as estimated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Protein kinase C dependency of p37 phosphorylation was proven by showing that Calphostin C, a specific protein kinase C inhibitor, blocked label incorporation into p37 completely, and by demonstrating that purified protein kinase C phosphorylated p37. Inhibitors of cAMP-dependent kinase and calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase did not change the phosphorylation of p37 in the presence of protein kinase C activators. p37 was recovered in a Triton X-100-extractable fraction of this ciliary preparation, suggesting that p37 is membrane associated. This hypothesis was further supported by the fact that p37 was present in a pellet representing reconstituted membranes. Thin-layer electrophoresis revealed that p37 was phosphorylated on serine and tyrosine residues, suggesting that the activation of protein kinase C also stimulated tyrosine kinase activity. p37 did not precipitate with annexin I or II antibodies. These results show that sheep tracheal cilia contain protein kinase C activity and that activated protein kinase C phosphorylates a membrane-associated ovine ciliary target, an effect temporally related to a protein kinase C-mediated decrease in ciliary beat frequency.

Biochemical analysis of a mutant Tetrahymena lacking outer dynein arms

Tetrahymena thermophila mutants homozygous for the oad mutation become nonmotile when grown at the restrictive temperature, and axonemes isolated from nonmotile mutants lack approximately 90% of their outer dynein arms. Electrophoretic analyses of axonemes isolated from nonmotile mutants (oad axonemes) indicate they contain significantly fewer of the 22 S dynein heavy chains that axonemes isolated from wild-type cells (wild-type axonemes) contain. The 22 S dynein heavy chains that remain in axonemes isolated from nonmotile, oad mutants are assembled into 22 S dynein particles that exhibit wild-type levels of ATPase activity. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of oad axonemes show that they are deficient in no proteins other than those proteins thought to be components of 22 S dynein. This report is the first formal proof that outer dynein arms in Tetrahymena cilia are composed of 22 S dynein.

A motility in the eukaryotic flagellum unrelated to flagellar beating

We report a motility in the flagella of the green alga Chlamydomonas that is unrelated to dynein-based flagellar beating. This motility, referred to as intraflagellar transport, was observed as the rapid bidirectional movement of granule-like particles along the length of the flagella. Intraflagellar transport could be experimentally separated from other, previously reported, nonbeat flagellar motilities. EM of flagella showed groups of nonvesicular, lollipop-shaped structures positioned between the outer doublet microtubules and the flagellar membrane. Movement of these complexes along the length of the flagella may be responsible for intraflagellar transport.

Immunological comparison of 22S, 19S, and 12S dyneins from Paramecium cilia

Three forms of dynein (22S, 19S, and 12S) were purified from Paramecium cilia. Two classes of monoclonal antibodies against purified 22S dynein were generated. One class reacted on immunoblots with the heavy chains of 22S, 19S, and 12S dyneins; the second class reacted with an 88 kD intermediate chain of 22S dynein. Polyclonal antiserum to the heavy chains of 22S dynein reacted with the alpha-heavy chain of 22S and 19S dyneins. A previously described antiserum raised against 22S dynein [Travis et al.: Biochim. Biophys. Acta 966:73-83, 1988] recognized the gamma-heavy chain of 22S dynein which was also present in 19S and 12S dyneins, along with the 88 and 76 kD intermediate chains of 22S dynein. This antiserum was also able to immunoprecipitate dynein from crude extracts of cilia. Electron microscopy revealed that the 22S dynein consisted mainly of two-headed particles with some three-headed particles present. The 12S dynein was mainly one-headed particles. The 19S dynein was a mixture of three-, two-, and one-headed particles. The immunological and electron microscopic studies showed that 19S dynein arises from 22S dynein, and that 12S dynein is heterogeneous, composed of the gamma-heavy chain of 22S dynein and a unique dynein ATPase. The polyclonal antibodies were also used to detect cross-reactive proteins in other organisms. Both the anti-heavy chain and the anti-22S dynein sera reacted strongly with 22S outer arm dynein of Tetrahymena, but not with the 14S dynein of this organism.

Cortical ultrastructure and chemoreception in ciliated protists (Ciliophora)

The ciliated protists (ciliates) offer a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between chemoreception and cell structure. Ciliates resemble chemosensory neurons in their responses to stimuli and presence of cilia. Ciliates have highly patterned surfaces that should permit precise localization of chemoreceptors in relation to effector organelles. Furthermore, ciliates are easy to grow and to manipulate genetically; they can also be readily studied biochemically and by electrophysiological techniques. This review contains a comparative description of the ultrastructural features of the ciliate cell surface relevant to chemoreception, examines the structural features of putative chemoreceptive cilia, and provides a summary of the electron microscopic information available so far bearing on chemoreceptive aspects of swimming, feeding, excretion, endocytosis, and sexual responses of ciliates. The electron microscopic identification and localization of specific chemoreceptive macromolecules and organelles at the molecular level have not yet been achieved in ciliates. These await the development of specific probes for chemoreceptor and transduction macromolecules. Nevertheless, the electron microscope has provided a wealth of information about the surface features of ciliates where chemoreception is believed to take place. Such morphological information will prove essential to a complete understanding of reception and transduction at the molecular level. In the ciliates, major questions to be answered relate to the apportionment of chemoreceptive functions between the cilia and cell soma, the global distribution of receptors in relation to the anterior-posterior, dorsal-ventral, and left-right axes of the cell, and the relationship of receptors to ultrastructural components of the cell coat, cell membrane, and cytoskeleton.

Identification of Tetrahymena ciliary surface proteins labeled with sulfosuccinimidyl 6-(biotinamido) hexanoate and Concanavalin A and fractionated with Triton X-114

Tetrahymena thermophila cells were labeled with sulfosuccinimidyl 6-(biotinamido) hexanoate, a sensitive nonradioactive probe for cell surface proteins, and Western blots of axonemes and ciliary membrane vesicles were compared to cilia fractionated with Triton X-114 (TX-114) in order to study the orientation of ciliary membrane proteins. Greater than 40 ciliary surface polypeptides, from greater than 350 kDa to less than 20 kDa, were resolved. The major surface 50-60 kDa proteins are hydrophobic and partition into the TX-114 detergent phase. Two high molecular weight proteins, one of which is biotinylated, comigrate with the heavy chains of ciliary dynein, sediment at 14S in a sucrose gradient, and partition into the TX-114 aqueous phase. Fractions containing these high molecular weight proteins as well as fractions enriched in 88-kDa and 66-kDa polypeptides contain Mg(2+)-ATPase activities. Detergent-solubilized tubulins partition into the TX-114 aqueous phase, are not biotinylated, and must not be exposed to the ciliary surface. The detergent-insoluble axoneme and membrane fraction contains a 36-kDa polypeptide and a portion of the 50-kDa polypeptides that otherwise partition into the detergent phase. These polypeptides could not be solubilized by ATP or by NaCl extraction and appear to be associated with pieces of ciliary membrane tightly linked to the axoneme. The ciliary membrane polypeptides were also tested for Concanavalin A binding and at least sixteen Con A-binding polypeptides were resolved. Of the major Con A-binding polypeptides, three are hydrophobic and partition into the TX-114 detergent phase, three partition into the TX-114 aqueous phase, and four partition exclusively in the detergent-insoluble fraction, which contains axonemes and detergent-resistant membrane vesicles.

Identification of surface components of mammalian respiratory tract cilia

Cilia isolation methods were modified to retain respiratory tract ciliary membranes and to identify accessible surface components. Prior to isolation of cilia, halves of cow tracheae were treated with the extended spacer arm analog of N-hydroxysuccinimido-biotin (NHS-LC-biotin) to label accessible membrane constituents. Mechanical disruption of the epithelium and substitution of CHAPS for Triton X-100 provided a good yield of cilia with membranes and with minimal contamination. Subsequent extraction of these cilia with Triton X-100 solubilized the membranes and released soluble matrix proteins. Proteins of membrane + matrix and axoneme fractions were analyzed after electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels. The major biotin-labeled components in the membrane + matrix fraction were 105, 98, and 92 kd, were glycosylated, and remained with reconstituted, pelleted membrane vesicles along with the major non-biotinylated protein at 51 kd. Other membrane + matrix proteins at 126 and 76 kd bound streptavidin even from nonlabeled trachea, but remained soluble. Several biotin-labeled proteins distinct from those in the membrane fraction remained with Triton X-100-extracted axonemes. Streptavidin-colloidal-gold (SAG) particles appeared to bind randomly along the length of cilia. The peripheral join between A and B microtubules was a predominant nonspecific location of SAG on axonemes. Axonemes with biotin label also bound significant numbers of SAG to outer dynein arms, confirming the streptavidin reaction with separated proteins on transfers. These results suggest close association of the membrane with the axoneme in respiratory tract cilia and a membrane composition somewhat different from protozoan cilia.

Calcium-induced localization of calcium-activated neutral proteinase on plasma membranes

The location of calcium-activated neutral proteinase (CANP) was determined in human erythrocytes by crosslinking CANP to co-localizing proteins using a photolabeling bifunctional reagent, 4,4'-dithiobisphenylazide (DTBPA). The crosslinked products were selectively isolated by immunoprecipitation with a polyclonal anti-CANP antibody and analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis after cleavage of the crosslinkage. In the calcium-free incubation medium the main proteins crosslinked with CANP were cytosolic proteins such as hemoglobin. In the presence of calcium ions, on the other hand, membrane skeletal proteins such as spectrin, band 4.1, 4.2 and 6 proteins as well as band 3 were crosslinked with CANP. Addition of calcium ionophore further increased the amount of crosslinked membrane proteins. These results suggest that in the absence of calcium ions CANP exists diffusely in the cytoplasm and is crosslinked with cytoplasmic hemoglobin nonspecifically while in the presence of calcium ions CANP associated with membrane where it is crosslinked specifically with the lining proteins. Thus it is demonstrated biochemically that the localization of CANP is dynamic depending on the presence of calcium ions.

Microtubule translocation properties of intact and proteolytically digested dyneins from Tetrahymena cilia

Tetrahymena cilia contain a three-headed 22S (outer arm) dynein and a single-headed 14S dynein. In this study, we have employed an in vitro assay of microtubule translocation along dynein-coated glass surfaces to characterize the motile properties of 14S dynein, 22S dynein, and proteolytic fragments of 22S dynein. Microtubule translocation produced by intact 22S dynein and 14S dynein differ in a number of respects including (a) the maximal velocities of movement; (b) the ability of 22S dynein but not 14S dynein to utilize ATP gamma S to induce movement; (c) the optimal pH and ionic conditions for movement; and (d) the effects of Triton X-100 on the velocity of movement. These results indicate that 22S and 14S dyneins have distinct microtubule translocating properties and suggest that these dyneins may have specialized roles in ciliary beating. We have also explored the function of the multiple ATPase heads of 22S dynein by preparing one- and two-headed proteolytic fragments of this three-headed molecule and examining their motile activity in vitro. Unlike the single-headed 14S dynein, the single-headed fragment of 22S dynein did not induce movement, even though it was capable of binding to microtubules. The two-headed fragment, on the other hand, translocated microtubules at velocities similar to those measured for intact 22S dynein (10 microns/sec). This finding indicates that the intact three-headed structure of 22S dynein is not essential for generating microtubule movement, which raises the possibility that multiple heads may serve some regulatory function or may be required for maximal force production in the beating cilium.

Fractionation of Tetrahymena ciliary membranes with triton X-114 and the identification of a ciliary membrane ATPase

Cilia were isolated from Tetrahymena thermophila, extracted with Triton X-114, and the detergent-soluble membrane + matrix proteins separated into Triton X-114 aqueous and detergent phases. The aqueous phase polypeptides include a high molecular mass polypeptide previously identified as a membrane dynein, detergent-soluble alpha and beta tubulins, and numerous polypeptides distinct from those found in axonemes. Integral membrane proteins partition into the detergent phase and include two major polypeptides of 58 and 50 kD, a 49-kD polypeptide, and 5 polypeptides in relatively minor amounts. The major detergent phase polypeptides are PAS-positive and are phosphorylated in vivo. A membrane-associated ATPase, distinct from the dynein-like protein, partitions into the Triton X-114 detergent phase and contains nearly 20% of the total ciliary ATPase activity. The ATPase requires Mg++ or Ca++ and is not inhibited by ouabain or vanadate. This procedure provides a gentle and rapid technique to separate integral membrane proteins from those that may be peripherally associated with the matrix or membrane.

Isolation and reactivation of highly-coupled newt lung cilia

The paired lungs of the newt, Taricha granulosa, are simple, unbranched sacs, 3.5-5.0 cm in length. The inner epithelium overlying the pulmonary vein is differentiated into a mucociliary tract that extends the entire length of the lung. Populations of single, demembranated ciliary axonemes, 12-13 micron in length, can be isolated by extracting whole lungs or primary cultures of the ciliated epithelium with Triton X-100. The motile capabilities of the isolated axonemes are the highest yet obtained for any ciliary model. When exposed to a suitable reactivating medium containing Mg2+ and ATP, nearly 100% of the axonemes become motile. Uniform reactivation of high quality requires short extraction times, minimization of mechanical damage, and strict adherence to optimal conditions throughout the extraction, storage, and reactivation procedures. Significant deviations from either pH 7.0 or 0.12 M salt can lead to a rapid, irreversible decrease in the beat frequency of reactivated axonemes. Both DTT and EDTA serve to stabilize their motility. The isolated axonemes beat at 29.5 Hz in the presence of 1.75 mM ATP at 21 degrees C, matching the beat frequencies measured for cultured cells at the same temperature. With 5 mM ATP, beat frequencies over 40 Hz are measured. Our results show that neither the plasma membrane, accessory structures, nor hydrodynamic coupling of cilia are required for this activity and imply that the lack of these factors is not responsible for the low motile capabilities of ciliary models isolated previously.

Structure and mass analysis of 14S dynein obtained from Tetrahymena cilia

Scanning transmission electron microscopic analysis revealed that the 14S fraction of Tetrahymena dynein was of a mixture of two types of particles in approximately equal proportions. The 14S dynein molecules were roughly ellipsoid in shape with approximate axes of 9.5 and 14.5 nm. About half of the particles had tails 20-24-nm long. By the integration of electron scattering intensities, particles with tails had an average mass of 510 kD with a SD of 90 kD. The globular heads of both types of particles had an average mass of 330 kD with a SD of 60 kD. The mass of the tail structure was about 180 kD. By SDS-PAGE, the 14S dynein consisted of two high molecular mass polypeptides above 300 kD that could be distinguished by immunoblot analysis.

Cytoskeletal-membrane interactions: a stable interaction between cell surface glycoconjugates and doublet microtubules of the photoreceptor connecting cilium

The ciliary base is marked by a transition zone in which Y-shaped cross-linkers extend from doublet microtubules to the plasma membrane. Our goal was to investigate the hypothesis that the cross-linkers form a stable interaction between membrane or cell surface components and the underlying microtubule cytoskeleton. We have combined Triton X-100 extraction with lectin cytochemistry in the photoreceptor sensory cilium to investigate the relationship between cell surface glycoconjugates and the underlying cytoskeleton, and to identify the cell surface components involved. Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) binds heavily to the cell surface in the region of the Y-shaped cross-linkers of the neonatal rat photoreceptor cilium. WGA binding is not removed by prior digestion with neuraminidase and succinyl-WGA also binds the proximal cilium, suggesting a predominance of N-acetylglucosamine containing glycoconjugates. Extraction of the photoreceptor plasma membrane with Triton X-100 removes the lipid bilayer, leaving the Y-shaped crosslinkers associated with the axoneme. WGA-binding sites are found at the distal ends of the crosslinkers after Triton X-100 extraction, indicating that the microtubule-membrane cross-linkers retain both a transmembrane and a cell surface component after removal of the lipid bilayer. To identify glycoconjugate components of the cross-linkers we used a subcellular fraction enriched in axonemes from adult bovine retinas. Isolated, detergent-extracted bovine axonemes show WGA binding at the distal ends of the cross-linkers similar to that seen in the neonatal rat. Proteins of the axoneme fraction were separated by SDS-PAGE and electrophoretically transferred to nitrocellulose. WGA labeling of the nitrocellulose transblots reveals three glycoconjugates, all of molecular mass greater than 400 kD. The major WGA-binding glycoconjugate has an apparent molecular mass of approximately 600 kD and is insensitive to prior digestion with neuraminidase. This glycoconjugate may correspond to the dominant WGA-binding component seen in cytochemical experiments.

Synapsin I: an actin-bundling protein under phosphorylation control

Synapsin I is a neuronal phosphoprotein comprised of two closely related polypeptides with apparent molecular weights of 78,000 and 76,000. It is found in association with the small vesicles clustered at the presynaptic junction. Its precise role is unknown, although it probably participates in vesicle clustering and/or release. Synapsin I is known to associate with vesicle membranes, microtubules, and neurofilaments. We have examined the interaction of purified phosphorylated and unphosphorylated bovine and human synapsin I with tubulin and actin filaments, using cosedimentation, viscometric, electrophoretic, and morphologic assays. As purified from brain homogenates, synapsin I decreases the steady-state viscosity of solutions containing F-actin, enhances the sedimentation of actin, and bundles actin filaments. Phosphorylation by cAMP-dependent kinase has minimal effect on this interaction, while phosphorylation by brain extracts or by purified calcium- and calmodulin-dependent kinase II reduces its actin-bundling and -binding activity. Synapsin's microtubule-binding activity, conversely, is stimulated after phosphorylation by the brain extract. Two complementary peptide fragments of synapsin generated by 2-nitro-5-thiocyanobenzoic cleavage and which map to opposite ends of the molecule participate in the bundling process, either by binding directly to actin or by binding to other synapsin I molecules. 2-Nitro-5-thiocyanobenzoic peptides arising from the central portion of the molecule demonstrate neither activity. In vivo, synapsin I may link small synaptic vesicles to the actin-based cortical cytoskeleton, and coordinate their availability for release in a Ca++-dependent fashion.

Phenotypic switching to long cilia effected by various proteases: results with Dendraster excentricus and Stronglyocentrotus purpuratus blastulae

Incubation in trypsin effects a phenotypic switch from short to long cilia (greater than 30 micron) in hatched blastulae of the sea urchin, Arbacia punctulata. To determine how trypsin causes such a switch we tested whether the phenomenon was unique to the species, Arbacia, and to the protease, trypsin. With two other echinoderm species, the sand dollar, Dendraster excentricus, and the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, trypsin incubation increased the percentage of long cilia. During incubation of D. excentricus in trypsin, the percentage of long cilia increased progressively from the normal 10% long cilia of the apical tuft to 45-50% long cilia covering 1/2-3/4 of the embryo. With S. purpuratus blastulae, however, the percentage of long cilia was lower (32-40%) and the results were more variable. Of the additional proteases tested with D. excentricus, elastase was more effective than trypsin in terms of the percentage of long cilia (58%), the mean length, and the broad distribution of lengths formed. Thermolysin was about as effective as trypsin but chymotrypsin was much less so. Thus, increases in ciliary length were not unique to a particular echinoderm species or to incubation in trypsin. The magnitude of the change in length distribution, however, was species- and enzyme-dependent. An extracellular or membrane component with differential susceptibility to various proteases may, therefore, be involved in altering ciliary length.

Interaction of tubulin with octyl glucoside and deoxycholate. 1. Binding and hydrodynamic studies

Tubulin purified from calf brain cytoplasm, normally a compact water-soluble dimer, is able to interact with the mild detergents octyl glucoside (a minimum of 60 detergent molecules) and deoxycholate (95 +/- 8 molecules). Binding is cooperative and approaches saturation below the critical micelle concentration of the amphiphiles. Binding is accompanied by a quenching of the intrinsic protein fluorescence, but no spectral shape changes indicating denaturation such as in the case of sodium dodecyl sulfate are observed. Glycerol, which is known to be preferentially excluded from the tubulin domain and to favor the folded and associated forms of this protein, inhibits the binding of the mild detergents. Octyl glucoside induces a rapidly equilibrating tubulin self-association reaction characterized by a bimodal sedimentation velocity profile with boundaries at approximately 5 and 12 S. Full dissociation of this detergent restores the normal sedimentation behavior to 90% of the protein. Binding of deoxycholate slows the sedimentation velocity of tubulin from s(0)20,w = 5.6 +/- 0.2 S to s(0)20,w = 4.8 +/- 0.3 S. Measurements of the molecular weight of the tubulin-deoxycholate complex indicate an increase from 100,000 to 143,000 +/- 5,000. The diffusion rate consistently decreases from (5.3 +/- 0.5) X 10(-7) to (3.8 +/- 0.2) X 10(-7) cm2 S-1. This is most simply interpreted as an expansion of the undissociated tubulin dimer upon detergent binding (a change in the frictional ratio, f/f min, from 1.35 to 1.86). It is concluded that tubulin shows a reversible transition between the water-soluble state and amphipathic detergent-bound forms which constitute a model system of tubulin-membrane interactions.

Stable complexes of axoplasmic vesicles and microtubules: protein composition and ATPase activity

Fast transport of axonal vesicles and organelles is a microtubule-associated movement (Griffin, J. W., K. E. Fahnestock, L. Price, and P. N. Hoffman, 1983, J. Neuroscience, 3:557-566; Schnapp, B. J., R. D. Vale, M. P. Sheetz, and T. S. Reese, 1984, Cell, 40:455-462; Allen, R. D., D. G. Weiss, J. H. Hayden, D. T. Brown, H. Fujiwake, and M. Simpson, 1985, J. Cell Biol., 100:1736-1752). Proteins that mediate the interactions of axoplasmic vesicles and microtubules were studied using stable complexes of microtubules and vesicles (MtVC). These complexes formed spontaneously in vitro when taxol-stabilized microtubules were mixed with sonically disrupted axoplasm from the giant axon of the squid Loligo pealei. The isolated MtVCs contain a distinct subset of axoplasmic proteins, and are composed primarily of microtubules and attached membranous vesicles. The MtVC also contains nonmitochondrial ATPase activity. The binding of one high molecular mass polypeptide to the complex is significantly enhanced by ATP or adenyl imidodiphosphate. All of the axoplasmic proteins and ATPase activity that bind to microtubules are found in macromolecular complexes and appear to be vesicle-associated. These data allow the identification of several vesicle-associated proteins of the squid giant axon and suggest that one or more of these polypeptides mediates vesicle binding to microtubules.

Electron microscopy of frozen hydrated eukaryotic flagella

Resting and active sea urchin sperm flagella have been examined by low-dose electron microscopy of frozen hydrated specimens. The flagella are unfixed, unstained, completely intact, and able to swim vigorously after going through the entire preparative procedure. The most prominent features of the image arise from the edges of the axonemal doublets and central-pair microtubules seen in projection. By comparison with these longitudinal markings, transverse features are less easy to discern, being camouflaged by superposition. However, Fourier transforms of digitized micrographs reveal a remarkable degree of crystalline order in quiescent flagella. Filtered images derived from these Fourier transforms show clearly features arising from the central-pair complex and radial spokes that were obscured in the original data. Potentially complicating effects of specimen thickness are shown to be quantitatively insignificant in the formation of images of unstained frozen hydrated flagella. Determination of native flagellar structure by 3-D reconstruction from multiple-tilted views appears to be feasible.

A deep-etching study of the guinea pig tracheal cilium with special reference to the ciliary transitional region

The fine structure of the cilium was examined by freeze-fracture-etch studies. In the interior of the transitional region, three types of plate structures were clearly observed. While the terminal plate contained fine fibrillar linkers suspending the central core plates from its peripheral doublet microtubules, two other types of plates had no suspending linkers. At the upper level of transitional region, one of the central microtubules elongated deeper than the other in the space surrounded by ring structure. Axosome-like structure was not observed in our replicas. Central vesicle of the basal body was also suspended by fine fibrillar linkers from peripheral triplets. Though membrane particles of ciliary necklace were recognized on protoplasmic and external fracture faces, and the external surface, particle arrays were not observed on protoplasmic surface. Instead, Y-shaped, cross bridges, one end of which attached to the doublet microtubules, merged in the circular ridge structure at opposite ends. This circular ridge structure at the necklace region may play a role as an anchoring site of both membrane particles of the necklace and cross bridges from peripheral doublet microtubules.

Structure of the Chlamydomonas agglutinin and related flagellar surface proteins in vitro and in situ

Using the quick-freeze, deep-etch technique, we compare the structure of the cane-shaped plus and minus sexual agglutinin molecules purified from gametes of Chlamydomonas reinhardi. We also describe the structure of three additional gamete-specific fibrillar molecules, called short canes, loops, and crescents, which are structurally related to the agglutinins. Four non-agglutinating mutant strains are found to produce the three latter fibrils but not canes, supporting our identification of the cane-shaped molecule as the agglutinin. The heads of the plus and minus canes are shown to differ in morphology. Moreover, two treatments that inactivate the plus agglutinin in vitro--thermolysin digestion and disulfide reduction/alkylation--bring about detectable structural changes only in the head domain of the cane, suggesting that the head may play an indispensible role in affecting gametic recognition/adhesion. We also present quick-freeze, deep-etch images of the flagellar surfaces of gametic, vegetative, and mutant cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardi. The gametic flagella are shown to carry the canes, short canes, loops, and crescents present in in vitro preparations. The cane and crescent proteins self-associate on the flagellar surface into stout fibers of uniform caliber, and they align along the longitudinal axis of the flagellum. The short canes and loops co-purify with flagella but, in the presence of mica, dissociate so that they lie to the sides of the flagella. The agglutinin canes of both mating types are oriented with their hooks at the membrane surface and their heads directed outward, where they are positioned to participate in the initial events of sexual agglutination.

Evidence for a tubulin-containing lipid-protein structural complex in ciliary membranes

The proteins and lipids of the scallop gill ciliary membrane may be reassociated through several cycles of detergent solubilization, detergent removal, and freeze-thaw, without significant change in overall protein composition. Membrane proteins and lipids reassociate to form vesicles of uniform, discrete density classes under a variety of reassociation conditions involving detergent removal and concentration. Freed of the solubilizing detergent during equilibrium centrifugation, a protein-lipid complex equilibrates to a position on a sucrose density gradient characteristic of the original membrane density. When axonemal tubulin is solubilized by dialysis, mixed with 2:1 lecithin/cholesterol dissolved in Nonidet P-40, freed of detergent, and reconstituted by freeze-thaw, vesicles of a density essentially equal to pure lipid result. If the lipid fraction is derived through chloroform-methanol extraction of natural ciliary membranes, a moderate increase in density occurs upon reconstitution, but the protein is adsorbed and most is removed by a simple low ionic strength wash, in contrast to vesicles reconstituted from membrane proteins where even high salt extraction causes no loss of protein. The proteins of the ciliary membrane dissolve with constant composition, regardless of the type, concentration, or efficiency of detergent. Analytical ultracentrifugation demonstrates that monodisperse mixed micelles form at high detergent concentrations, but that membranes are dispersed to large sedimentable aggregates by Nonidet P-40 even at several times the critical micelle concentration, which suggests reasons for the efficacy of certain detergent for the production of ATP-reactivatable cell models. In extracts freed of detergent, structured polydisperse particles, but not membrane vesicles, are seen in negative staining; vesicles form upon concentration of the extract. Membrane tubulin is not in a form that will freely undergo electrophoresis, even in the presence of detergent above the critical micelle concentration. All chromatographic attempts to separate membrane tubulin from other membrane proteins have failed; lipid and protein are excluded together by gel filtration in the presence of high concentrations of detergent. These observations support the idea that a relatively stable lipid-protein complex exists in the ciliary membrane and that in this complex membrane tubulin is tightly associated with lipids and with a number of other proteins.

Localization of tektin filaments in microtubules of sea urchin sperm flagella by immunoelectron microscopy

Extraction of doublet microtubules from the sperm flagella of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus with sarkosyl (0.5%)-urea (2.5 M) yields a highly pure preparation of "tektin" filaments that we have previously shown to resemble intermediate filament proteins. They form filaments 2-3 nm in diameter as seen by negative stain electron microscopy and are composed of approximately equal amounts of three polypeptide bands with apparent molecular weights of 47,000, 51,000, and 55,000, as determined by SDS PAGE. We prepared antibodies to this set of proteins to localize them in the doublet microtubules of S. purpuratus and other species. Tektins and tubulin were antigenically distinct when tested by immunoblotting with affinity-purified antitektin and antitubulin antibodies. Fixed sperm or axonemes from several different species of sea urchin showed immunofluorescent staining with antitektin antibodies. We also used antibodies coupled to gold spheres to localize the proteins by electron microscopy. Whereas a monoclonal antitubulin (Kilmartin, J.V., B. Wright, and C. Milstein, 1982, J. Cell Biol. 93:576-582) decorates intact microtubules along their lengths, antitektins labeled only the ends of intact microtubules and sarkosyl-insoluble ribbons. However, if microtubules and ribbons attached to electron microscope grids were first extracted with sarkosyl-urea, the tektin filaments that remain were decorated by antitektin antibodies throughout their length. These results suggest that tektins form integral filaments of flagellar microtubule walls, whose antigenic sites are normally masked, perhaps by the presence of tubulin around them.

Newt lung ciliated cell models: effect of MgATP on beat frequency and waveforms

Highly coupled newt lung ciliated cell models were used to study the effects of MgATP concentration on ciliary beat frequency and waveform. Models were prepared from ciliated lung cells of the newt Taricha granulosa by trypsin dissociation of the epithelium, demembranation with Triton X-100, and reactivation with MgATP, as described previously [Weaver and Hard, 1985]. Beat frequencies were measured stroboscopically. Ciliary waveforms of reactivated models and intact mucociliary epithelial sheets were determined by single frame analysis of high-speed movies. Waveform parameters calculated included the durations of the effective and recovery strokes, the angular swings and angular velocities of the ciliary base and tip, the position of the bend along the ciliary shaft during the recovery stroke, the velocity of recovery stroke bend propagation, and the ratio of the duration of recovery stroke bend propagation to the duration of the recovery stroke itself. We found that beat frequency varied biphasically in response to MgATP at 21 degrees C, as shown previously for isolated, individual, newt lung axonemes. Apparent Fmax (maximum beat frequency) and Km values of 25 Hz and 0.14 mM, and 35 Hz and 0.47 mM, respectively, were obtained for each linear segment of the biphasic double reciprocal plot. Demembranation did not alter either ciliary waveform or the pattern of coordination. In this system, metachrony is antilaeoplectic and ciliary waveform appears to be regulated independent of beat frequency.

Improved fixation for immunofluorescence microscopy using light-activated 1,3,5-triazido-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TTB)

A new fixation method has been developed for immunofluorescent microscopy using the photosensitive compound 1,3,5-triazido-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TTB). Our results show that TTB-fixed cells are well preserved morphologically and that the cellular antigens are better preserved than conventionally fixed cells. By altering one condition at a time in the TTB fixation procedure and analyzing resulting fluorescent antitubulin staining patterns in mammalian tissue culture cells, an optimal procedure was developed. Cells fixed with TTB and stained with antitubulin, antiprekeratin, anti-intermediate filament, anti-alpha-actinin, anti-myosin, antiactin, or anticlathrin were compared with cells fixed by conventional methods and stained with the same antibody. The quality of immunofluorescence images of TTB fixed cells was the same as or better than that of conventionally fixed cells. The most dramatic improvement in image quality was seen when using antiprekeratin or antitubulin. In dividing cells, particularly in metaphase, fluorescent staining with antiactin and anti-alpha-actinin was relatively excluded from the spindle. Antimyosin, on the other hand, stained the spindle and surrounding area more heavily than the subcortical region. We suggest that after TTB fixation, the immunofluorescent patterns of these contractile proteins more closely reflect their relative concentrations in living cells. The exact mechanism for fixation by TTB is not yet known. However, our studies indicated that TTB fixation was not caused by the typical fast photoinduced nitrene diradical mechanism, but rather by some slower, temperature-dependent reaction of a photoactivation product of TTB with the cell.

High density of transmembrane glycoproteins on the flagellar surface of boar sperm cells

Membrane halves of boar sperm flagella were produced by freeze-fracture and labeled in situ with concanavalin A and wheat germ agglutinin; the lectins were visualized with protein-gold complexes. Concanavalin A and wheat germ agglutinin binding sites partition with both protoplasmic and exoplasmic halves of the membrane. A high density of lectin marking was found on protoplasmic membrane halves; we conclude that the label corresponds to transmembrane glycoproteins that, on freeze-fracture, are dragged across the outer (exoplasmic) half of the phospholipid bilayer. Our demonstration of numerous transmembrane proteins in sperm flagella offers the structural setting for previous models on flagellar surface motility that postulate accessibility of motile membrane components to the submembranous cytoskeleton.