A molecular "zipper" for microtubules

The dynamics of the microtubule cytoskeleton are controlled by microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs). In this issue, show that Mal3p, the yeast EB1 homolog, belongs to a new class of MAPs that "zipper" up the seam of the microtubule lattice.     

EBs recognize a nucleotide-dependent structural cap at growing microtubule ends

Growing microtubule ends serve as transient binding platforms for essential proteins that regulate microtubule dynamics and their interactions with cellular substructures. End-binding proteins (EBs) autonomously recognize an extended region at growing microtubule ends with unknown structural characteristics and then recruit other factors to the dynamic end structure. Using cryo-electron microscopy, subnanometer single-particle reconstruction, and fluorescence imaging, we present a pseudoatomic model of how the calponin homology (CH) domain of the fission yeast EB Mal3 binds to the end regions?of growing microtubules. The Mal3 CH domain bridges protofilaments except at the microtubule seam. By binding close to the exchangeable GTP-binding site, the CH domain is ideally positioned to sense the microtubule's nucleotide state. The same microtubule-end region is also a stabilizing structural cap protecting the microtubule from depolymerization. This insight supports a common structural link between two important biological phenomena, microtubule dynamic instability and end tracking.     

A mutation of the fission yeast EB1 overcomes negative regulation by phosphorylation and stabilizes microtubules

Mal3 is a fission yeast homolog of EB1, a plus-end tracking protein (+TIP). We have generated a mutation (89R) replacing glutamine with arginine in the calponin homology (CH) domain of Mal3. Analysis of the 89R mutant in vitro has revealed that the mutation confers a higher affinity to microtubules and enhances the intrinsic activity to promote the microtubule-assembly. The mutant Mal3 is no longer a +TIP, but binds strongly the microtubule lattice. Live cell imaging has revealed that while the wild type Mal3 proteins dissociate from the tip of the growing microtubules before the onset of shrinkage, the mutant Mal3 proteins persist on microtubules and reduces a rate of shrinkage after a longer pausing period. Consequently, the mutant Mal3 proteins cause abnormal elongation of microtubules composing the spindle and aster. Mal3 is phosphorylated at a cluster of serine/threonine residues in the linker connecting the CH and EB1-like C-terminal motif domains. The phosphorylation occurs in a microtubule-dependent manner and reduces the affinity of Mal3 to microtubules. We propose that because the 89R mutation is resistant to the effect of phosphorylation, it can associate persistently with microtubules and confers a stronger stability of microtubules likely by reinforcing the cylindrical structure.     

Mal3 Masks Catastrophe Events in Schizosaccharomyces pombe Microtubules by Inhibiting Shrinkage and Promoting Rescue

Schizosaccharomyces pombe Mal3 is a member of the EB family of proteins, which are proposed to be core elements in a tip-tracking network that regulates microtubule dynamics in cells. How Mal3 itself influences microtubule dynamics is unclear. We tested the effects of full-length recombinant Mal3 on dynamic microtubules assembled in vitro from purified S. pombe tubulin, using dark field video microscopy to avoid fluorescent tagging and data-averaging techniques to improve spatiotemporal resolution. We find that catastrophe occurs stochastically as a fast (<2.2 s) transition from constant speed growth to constant speed shrinkage with a constant probability that is independent of the Mal3 concentration. This implies that Mal3 neither stabilizes nor destabilizes microtubule tips. Mal3 does, however, stabilize the main part of the microtubule lattice, inhibiting shrinkage and increasing the frequency of rescues, consistent with recent models in which Mal3 on the lattice forms stabilizing lateral links between neighboring protofilaments. At high concentrations, Mal3 can entirely block shrinkage and induce very rapid rescue, making catastrophes impossible to detect, which may account for the apparent suppression of catastrophe by Mal3 and other EBs in vivo. Overall, we find that Mal3 stabilizes microtubules not by preventing catastrophe at the microtubule tip but by inhibiting lattice depolymerization and enhancing rescue. We argue that this implies that Mal3 binds microtubules in different modes at the tip and on the lattice.Microtubules are intrinsically dynamic self-assembling structures of tubulin subunits (1) whose polymerization is subject to extensive spatial and temporal control in cells partly through the activity of microtubule-associated proteins (2). In cells, the EB family of microtubule plus end-tracking proteins (+TIPs)² localizes at the plus end of growing but not shrinking microtubules. EB depletion increases catastrophe frequency and reduces microtubule length in many species (3–5), suggesting that EBs suppress microtubule catastrophes. It is, however, unclear from these cellular studies whether this activity is direct or indirect because the dynamic binding of EBs to other +TIPs proteins enhances the localization of all EB complex proteins, including EB1, to microtubule ends (6).To determine the direct effect of EB family proteins on microtubule dynamics, in vitro experiments are necessary. These have established that microtubule end tracking is an intrinsic property of the EB proteins and that other +TIP proteins such as CLIP170 are dependent upon EBs for their microtubule end localization (7–9). However, EB1 binding also directly alters the structure of growing microtubule tips (10). In vitro studies show that Mal3, the EB1 homologue in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, can also affect the structure of microtubules. Sandblad et al. (11) found localization of Mal3 along the (A-lattice) seam of B-lattice microtubules and proposed this as a potential mechanism for direct microtubule stabilization by the EBs. Des Georges et al. (12) showed that Mal3 binds to and specifically stabilizes the A-lattice protofilament overlap, promoting nucleation and assembly of A-lattice-containing microtubules.Several studies in vitro have all shown that EBs can affect microtubule dynamics (4, 7, 10, 13) but conflict over which parameter is affected. Thus although Bieling et al. (7) and Manna et al. (13) observed no effect on microtubule growth rates, Komarova et al. (4) and Vitre et al. (10) found an acceleration of growth. Manna et al. (13) found that EB1 inhibits catastrophe, yet the other studies observed that EBs trigger catastrophe events. There is clearly a need to resolve these apparent conflicts, especially as the same proteins in vivo appear to suppress catastrophe.To try to elucidate the mechanism by which EB proteins influence microtubule assembly, we developed a minimalist approach in which the potential for confounding factors to affect the data is reduced or eliminated. Our assay uses proteins from a single organism, S. pombe, and GMPCPP-stabilized microtubule seeds assembled from purified tubulin with only the seeds attached to the chamber surface. We used this system to measure the effects of unlabeled full-length Mal3 on the polymerization dynamics of unlabeled S. pombe microtubules. Microtubules were imaged using dark field microscopy to avoid fluorescent labeling (see Fig. 1A). We also developed a semiautomated analysis system that allows us to digitize a large number of events, which can then be processed by data averaging and filtering. This reduces noise, allowing us to examine the detailed kinetics of the catastrophic switch from growth to shrinkage. Using this system, we find that Mal3 has no direct effect upon the frequency or kinetics of catastrophe events but that it does reduce shrinkage rates and increase rescue frequency in a dose-dependent manner.Open in a separate windowFIGURE 1.In vitro S. pombe microtubule dynamics assay. A, schematic diagram of S. pombe microtubule dynamics assay. GMPCPP stabilized polarity-marked microtubule seed assembled from Alexa Fluor 488- and Alexa Fluor 680-labeled pig brain tubulin. Only the center of the seed is attached to the surface by anti-Alexa Fluor 488 antibody. Dynamic non-fluorescently labeled S. pombe microtubules grown from seeds were observed by dark field illumination. B, merged fluorescence images of GMPCPP stabilized, polarity-marked pig microtubule seed (pig Alexa-MT). Green, Alexa Fluor 488; red, Alexa Fluor 680. Polarity is indicated by − or +. The plus end of the seed has a longer Alexa Fluor 680-labeled region (upper panel), a dark field image showing pig microtubule seed plus elongated S. pombe microtubules (middle panel), and the merged images (lower panel). Red broken lines show the ends of the seed, and yellow broken lines show the ends of the elongated S. pombe microtubules. Arrows indicate the dynamic S. pombe microtubule elongated from the stabilized microtubule seed. Scale bar: 10 μm. C, kymographs of microtubule length change over time. The left panel shows a diagram of a typical example. Time is indicated by the vertical axis, and length is indicated by the horizontal axis. Rescue (r) and catastrophe (c) events are labeled. Regrowth of shrinking microtubules from the seed (yellow arrow) were not counted as rescues. Scale bars: vertical, 5 min; horizontal, 20 μm. + and − ends of microtubule are indicated. D, enlargement of catastrophe events from the yellow rectangle in C. Scale bars: vertical, 30 s; horizontal, 5 μm.     

A conserved interaction between Moe1 and Mal3 is important for proper spindle formation in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Moe1 is a conserved fission yeast protein that negatively affects microtubule stability/assembly. We conducted a two-hybrid screen to search for Moe1-binding proteins and isolated Mal3, a homologue of human EB1. We show that Moe1 and Mal3 expressed in bacteria form a complex and that Moe1 and Mal3 expressed in fission yeast cosediment with microtubules. Deletion of either moe1 or mal3 does not result in lethality; however, deletion of both moe1 and mal3 leads to cell death in the cold. The resulting cells appear to die of chromosome missegregation, which correlates with the presence of abnormal spindles. We investigated the cause for the formation of monopolar spindles and found that only one of the two spindle pole bodies (SPBs) contains gamma-tubulin, although both SPBs appear to be equal in size and properly inserted in the nuclear membrane. Moreover, the moe1 mal3 double null mutant in the cold contains abnormally short and abundant interphase microtubule bundles. These data suggest that Moe1 and Mal3 play a role in maintaining proper microtubule dynamics/integrity and distribution of gamma-tubulin to the SPBs during mitosis. Finally, we show that human Moe1 and EB1 can each rescue the phenotype of the moe1 mal3 double null mutant and form a complex, suggesting that these proteins are part of a well-conserved mechanism for regulating spindle functioning.     

Regulation of Focal Adhesion Dynamics and Cell Motility by the EB2 and Hax1 Protein Complex

Cell migration is a fundamental cellular process requiring integrated activities of the cytoskeleton, membrane, and cell/extracellular matrix adhesions. Many cytoskeletal activities rely on microtubule filaments. It has been speculated that microtubules can serve as tracks to deliver proteins essential for focal adhesion turnover. Three microtubule end-binding proteins (EB1, EB2, and EB3) in mammalian cells can track the plus ends of growing microtubules. EB1 and EB3 together can regulate microtubule dynamics by promoting microtubule growth and suppressing catastrophe, whereas, in contrast, EB2 does not play a direct role in microtubule dynamic instability, and little is known about the cellular function of EB2. By quantitative proteomics, we identified mammalian HCLS1-associated protein X-1 (HAX1) as an EB2-specific interacting protein. Knockdown of HAX1 and EB2 in skin epidermal cells stabilizes focal adhesions and impairs epidermal migration in vitro and in vivo. Our results further demonstrate that cell motility and focal adhesion turnover require interaction between Hax1 and EB2. Together, our findings provide new insights for this critical cellular process, suggesting that EB2 association with Hax1 plays a significant role in focal adhesion turnover and epidermal migration.     

Characterization of functional domains of human EB1 family proteins

EB1 family proteins are evolutionarily conserved proteins that bind microtubule plus-ends and centrosomes and regulate the dynamics and organization of microtubules. Human EB1 family proteins, which include EB1, EBF3, and RP1, also associate with the tumor suppressor protein adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) and p150glued, a component of the dynactin complex. The structural basis for interaction between human EB1 family proteins and their associated proteins has not been defined in detail. EB1 family proteins have a calponin homology (CH) domain at their N terminus and an EB1-like C-terminal motif at their C terminus; the functional importance of these domains has not been determined. To better understand functions of human EB1 family proteins and to reveal functional similarities and differences among these proteins, we performed detailed characterizations of interactions between human EB1 family proteins and their associated proteins. We show that amino acids 1-133 of EB1 and EBF3 and the corresponding region of RP1, which contain a CH domain, are necessary and sufficient for binding microtubules, thus demonstrating for the first time that a CH domain contributes to binding microtubules. EB1 family proteins use overlapping but different regions that contain the EB1-like C-terminal motif to associate with APC and p150glued. Neither APC nor p150glued binding domain is necessary for EB1 or EBF3 to induce microtubule bundling, which requires amino acids 1-181 and 1-185 of EB1 and EBF3, respectively. We also determined that the EB1 family protein-binding regions are amino acids 2781-2820 and 18-111 of APC and p150glued, respectively.     

The microtubule plus-end proteins EB1 and dynactin have differential effects on microtubule polymerization

Several microtubule-binding proteins including EB1, dynactin, APC, and CLIP-170 localize to the plus-ends of growing microtubules. Although these proteins can bind to microtubules independently, evidence for interactions among them has led to the hypothesis of a plus-end complex. Here we clarify the interaction between EB1 and dynactin and show that EB1 binds directly to the N-terminus of the p150(Glued) subunit. One function of a plus-end complex may be to regulate microtubule dynamics. Overexpression of either EB1 or p150(Glued) in cultured cells bundles microtubules, suggesting that each may enhance microtubule stability. The morphology of these bundles, however, differs dramatically, indicating that EB1 and dynactin may act in different ways. Disruption of the dynactin complex augments the bundling effect of EB1, suggesting that dynactin may regulate the effect of EB1 on microtubules. In vitro assays were performed to elucidate the effects of EB1 and p150(Glued) on microtubule polymerization, and they show that p150(Glued) has a potent microtubule nucleation effect, whereas EB1 has a potent elongation effect. Overall microtubule dynamics may result from a balance between the individual effects of plus-end proteins. Differences in the expression and regulation of plus-end proteins in different cell types may underlie previously noted differences in microtubule dynamics.     

The fission yeast kinetochore component Spc7 associates with the EB1 family member Mal3 and is required for kinetochore-spindle association

A critical aspect of mitosis is the interaction of the kinetochore with spindle microtubules. Fission yeast Mal3 is a member of the EB1 family of microtubule plus-end binding proteins, which have been implicated in this process. However, the Mal3 interaction partner at the kinetochore had not been identified. Here, we show that the mal3 mutant phenotype can be suppressed by the presence of extra Spc7, an essential kinetochore protein associated with the central centromere region. Mal3 and Spc7 interact physically as both proteins can be coimmunoprecipitated. Overexpression of a Spc7 variant severely compromises kinetochore-microtubule interaction, indicating that the Spc7 protein plays a role in this process. Spc7 function seems to be conserved because, Spc105, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae homolog of Spc7, identified by mass spectrometry as a component of the conserved Ndc80 complex, can rescue mal3 mutant strains.     

EB1 Recognizes the Nucleotide State of Tubulin in the Microtubule Lattice

Plus-end-tracking proteins (+TIPs) are localized at the fast-growing, or plus end, of microtubules, and link microtubule ends to cellular structures. One of the best studied +TIPs is EB1, which forms comet-like structures at the tips of growing microtubules. The molecular mechanisms by which EB1 recognizes and tracks growing microtubule ends are largely unknown. However, one clue is that EB1 can bind directly to a microtubule end in the absence of other proteins. Here we use an in vitro assay for dynamic microtubule growth with two-color total-internal-reflection-fluorescence imaging to investigate binding of mammalian EB1 to both stabilized and dynamic microtubules. We find that under conditions of microtubule growth, EB1 not only tip tracks, as previously shown, but also preferentially recognizes the GMPCPP microtubule lattice as opposed to the GDP lattice. The interaction of EB1 with the GMPCPP microtubule lattice depends on the E-hook of tubulin, as well as the amount of salt in solution. The ability to distinguish different nucleotide states of tubulin in microtubule lattice may contribute to the end-tracking mechanism of EB1.     

Adenomatous Polyposis Coli as a Scaffold for Microtubule End-Binding Proteins

End-binding proteins (EBs), referred to as the core components of the microtubule plus-end tracking protein network, interact with the C-terminus of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor. This interaction is disrupted in colon cancers expressing truncated APC. APC and EBs act in synergy to regulate microtubule dynamics during spindle formation, chromosome segregation and cell migration. Since EBs autonomously end-track microtubules and partially co-localize with APC at microtubule tips in cells, EBs have been proposed to direct APC to microtubule ends. However, the interdependency of EB and APC localization on microtubules remains elusive. Here, using in vitro reconstitution and single-molecule imaging, we have investigated the interplay between EBs and the C-terminal domain of APC (APC-C) on dynamic microtubules. Our results show that APC-C binds along the microtubule wall but does not accumulate at microtubule tips, even when EB proteins are present. APC-C was also found to enhance EB binding at the extremity of growing microtubules and on the microtubule lattice: APC-C promotes EB end-tracking properties by increasing the time EBs spend at microtubule growing ends, whereas a pool of EBs with a fast turnover accumulates along the microtubule surface. Overall, our results suggest that APC is a promoter of EB interaction with microtubules, providing molecular determinants to reassess the relationship between APC and EBs.     

Structural basis for the activation of microtubule assembly by the EB1 and p150Glued complex

Plus-end tracking proteins, such as EB1 and the dynein/dynactin complex, regulate microtubule dynamics. These proteins are thought to stabilize microtubules by forming a plus-end complex at microtubule growing ends with ill-defined mechanisms. Here we report the crystal structure of two plus-end complex components, the carboxy-terminal dimerization domain of EB1 and the microtubule binding (CAP-Gly) domain of the dynactin subunit p150Glued. Each molecule of the EB1 dimer contains two helices forming a conserved four-helix bundle, while also providing p150Glued binding sites in its flexible tail region. Combining crystallography, NMR, and mutational analyses, our studies reveal the critical interacting elements of both EB1 and p150Glued, whose mutation alters microtubule polymerization activity. Moreover, removal of the key flexible tail from EB1 activates microtubule assembly by EB1 alone, suggesting that the flexible tail negatively regulates EB1 activity. We, therefore, propose that EB1 possesses an auto-inhibited conformation, which is relieved by p150Glued as an allosteric activator.     

Targeted movement of cell end factors in fission yeast

Kinesins are microtubule-based motor proteins that transport cargo to specific locations within the cell. However, the mechanisms by which cargoes are directed to specific cellular locations have remained elusive. Here, we investigated the in vivo movement of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe kinesin Tea2 to establish how it is targeted to microtubule tips and cell ends. Tea2 is loaded onto microtubules in the middle of the cell, in close proximity to the nucleus, and then travels using its intrinsic motor activity primarily at the tips of polymerizing microtubules. The microtubule-associated protein Mal3, an EB1 homologue, is required for loading and/or processivity of Tea2 and this function can be substituted by human EB1. In addition, the cell-end marker Tea1 is required to anchor Tea2 to cell ends. Movement of Tea1 and the CLIP170 homologue Tip1 to cell ends is abolished in Tea2 rigor (ATPase) mutants. We propose that microtubule-based transport from the vicinity of the nucleus to cell ends can be precisely regulated, with Mal3 required for loading/processivity, Tea2 for movement and Tea1 for cell-end anchoring.     

Yeast Bim1p Promotes the G1-specific Dynamics of Microtubules

Microtubule dynamics vary during the cell cycle, and microtubules appear to be more dynamic in vivo than in vitro. Proteins that promote dynamic instability are therefore central to microtubule behavior in living cells. Here, we report that a yeast protein of the highly conserved EB1 family, Bim1p, promotes cytoplasmic microtubule dynamics specifically during G1. During G1, microtubules in cells lacking BIM1 showed reduced dynamicity due to a slower shrinkage rate, fewer rescues and catastrophes, and more time spent in an attenuated/paused state. Human EB1 was identified as an interacting partner for the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor protein. Like human EB1, Bim1p localizes to dots at the distal ends of cytoplasmic microtubules. This localization, together with data from electron microscopy and a synthetic interaction with the gene encoding the kinesin Kar3p, suggests that Bim1p acts at the microtubule plus end. Our in vivo data provide evidence of a cell cycle–specific microtubule-binding protein that promotes microtubule dynamicity.     

A novel localization pattern for an EB1-like protein links microtubule dynamics to endomembrane organization

A group of microtubule-associated proteins called +TIPs (plus end tracking proteins), including EB1 family proteins, label growing microtubule ends specifically in diverse organisms and are implicated in spindle dynamics, chromosome segregation, and directing microtubules toward cortical sites. Here, we report three new EB1-like proteins from Arabidopsis and provide the intracellular localization for AtEB1, which differs from all known EB1 proteins in having a very long acidic C-terminal tail. In marked contrast to other EB1 proteins, the GFP-AtEB1 fusion protein localizes not only to microtubule plus ends but also to motile, pleiomorphic tubulovesicular membrane networks that surround other organelles and frequently merge with the endoplasmic reticulum. AtEB1 behavior thus resembles that of +TIPs, such as the cytoplasmic linker protein CLIP-170, that are known to associate with and pull along membrane tubules in animal systems but for which homologs have not been identified in plants. In addition, though EB1 proteins are believed to stabilize microtubules, a different behavior is observed for AtEB1 where instead of stabilizing a microtubule it localizes to already stabilized regions on a microtubule. The dual localization pattern of AtEB1 suggests links between microtubule plus end dynamics and endomembrane organization during polarized growth of plant cells.     

The microtubule plus end-tracking proteins mal3p and tip1p cooperate for cell-end targeting of interphase microtubules

BACKGROUND: CLIP-170 and EB1 protein family members localize to growing microtubule tips and link spatial information with the control of microtubule dynamics. It is unknown whether these proteins operate independently or whether their actions are coordinated. In fission yeast the CLIP-170 homolog tip1p is required for targeting of microtubules to cell ends, whereas the role of the EB1 homolog mal3p in microtubule organization has not been investigated. RESULTS: We show that mal3p promotes the initiation of microtubule growth and inhibits catastrophes. Premature catastrophes occur randomly throughout the cell in the absence of mal3p. mal3p decorates the entire microtubule lattice and localizes to particles along the microtubules and at their growing tips. Particles move in two directions, outbound toward the cell ends or inbound toward the cell center. At cell ends, the microtubule tip-associated mal3p particles disappear followed by a catastrophe. mal3p localizes normally in tip1-deleted cells and disappears from microtubule tips preceding the premature catastrophes. In contrast, tip1p requires mal3p to localize at microtubule tips. mal3p and tip1p directly interact in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: mal3p and tip1p form a system allowing microtubules to target cell ends. We propose that mal3p stimulates growth initiation and maintains growth by suppressing catastrophes. At cell ends, mal3p disappears from microtubule tips followed by a catastrophe. mal3p is involved in recruiting tip1p to microtubule tips. This becomes important when microtubules contact the cell cortex outside the cell ends because mal3p dissociates prematurely without tip1p, which is followed by a premature catastrophe.     

Microtubule binding proteins CLIP-170, EB1, and p150Glued form distinct plus-end complexes

Microtubule plus-end proteins CLIP-170 and EB1 dynamically track the tips of growing microtubules in vivo. Here we examine the association of these proteins with microtubules in vitro. CLIP-170 binds tubulin dimers and co-assembles into growing microtubules. EB1 binds tubulin dimers more weakly, so no co-assembly is observed. However, EB1 binds to CLIP-170, and forms a co-complex with CLIP-170 and tubulin that is recruited to growing microtubule plus ends. The interaction between CLIP-170 and EB1 is competitively inhibited by the related CAP-Gly protein p150Glued, which also localizes to microtubule plus ends in vivo. Based on these observations, we propose a model in which the formation of distinct plus-end complexes may differentially affect microtubule dynamics in vivo.     

The V260I mutation in fission yeast alpha-tubulin Atb2 affects microtubule dynamics and EB1-Mal3 localization and activates the Bub1 branch of the spindle checkpoint

We have identified a novel temperature-sensitive mutant of fission yeast alpha-tubulin Atb2 (atb2-983) that contains a single amino acid substitution (V260I). Atb2-983 is incorporated into the microtubules, and their overall structures are not altered noticeably, but microtubule dynamics is compromised during interphase. atb2-983 displays a high rate of chromosome missegregation and is synthetically lethal with deletions in a subset of spindle checkpoint genes including bub1, bub3, and mph1, but not with mad1, mad2, and mad3. During early mitosis in this mutant, Bub1, but not Mad2, remains for a prolonged period in the kinetochores that are situated in proximity to one of the two SPBs (spindle pole bodies). High dosage mal3(+), encoding EB1 homologue, rescues atb2-983, suggesting that Mal3 function is compromised. Consistently, Mal3 localization and binding between Mal3 and Atb2-983 are impaired significantly, and a mal3 single mutant, such as atb2-983, displays prolonged Bub1 kinetochore localization. Furthermore in atb2-983 back-and-forth centromere oscillation during prometaphase is abolished. Intriguingly, this oscillation still occurs in the mal3 mutant, indicating that there is another defect independent of Mal3. These results show that microtubule dynamics is important for coordinated execution of mitotic events, in which Mal3 plays a vital role.     

EB3 regulates microtubule dynamics at the cell cortex and is required for myoblast elongation and fusion

During muscle differentiation, myoblasts elongate and fuse into syncytial myotubes [1]. An early event during this process is the remodeling of the microtubule cytoskeleton, involving disassembly of the centrosome and, crucially, the alignment of microtubules into a parallel array along the long axis of the cell [2-5]. To further our understanding on how microtubules support myogenic differentiation, we analyzed the role of EB1-related microtubule-plus-end-binding proteins. We demonstrate that EB3 [6] is specifically upregulated upon myogenic differentiation and that knockdown of EB3, but not that of EB1, prevents myoblast elongation and fusion into myotubes. EB3-depleted cells show disorganized microtubules and fail to stabilize polarized membrane protrusions. Using live-cell imaging, we show that EB3 is necessary for the regulation of microtubule dynamics and microtubule capture at the cell cortex. Expression of EB1/EB3 chimeras on an EB3-depletion background revealed that myoblast fusion depends on two specific amino acids in the calponin-like domain of EB3, whereas the interaction sites with Clip-170 and CLASPs are dispensable. Our results suggest that EB3-mediated microtubule regulation at the cell cortex is a crucial step during myogenic differentiation and might be a general mechanism in polarized cell elongation.     

Trapping of normal EB1 ligands in aggresomes formed by an EB1 deletion mutant

Background  

EB1 is a microtubule tip-associated protein that interacts with the APC tumour suppressor protein and the p150glued subunit of dynactin. We previously reported that an EB1 deletion mutant that retains both of these interactions but does not directly associate with microtubules (EB1-ΔN2-GFP) spontaneously formed perinuclear aggregates when expressed in COS-7 cells.