Heterogeneous localization of epitopes along axonemes of mammalian cilia

The specificity of four monoclonal antibodies, raised against mammalian ciliary axonemes, was determined by both immunofluorescence and immunoblot experiments. Three antibodies reacted with epitopes which are differentially located along axonemal length. Among these, antibody 3.12 recognized an epitope common to different dynein heavy chains, reacted only with tracheal cilia and specifically stained the proximal portion of the ciliary axoneme.     

Evidence suggesting the presence of common antigenic determinant between dynein and tubulin.

The present experiments showed that the guinea pig antiserum prepared against the main polypeptides of 14 S dynein from Tetrahymena cilia reacted with sea urchin sperm flagellar dynein and with bovine brain high molecular weight protein to give rise to a precipitin line confluent with that formed between the antiserum and Tetrahymena dynein. Furthermore, it was found that this antiserum also reacted with tubulins from Tetrahymena cilia, sea urchin sperm flagella and bovine brain to give rise to the confluent precipitin line. Among muscle proteins, only actin preparation from rabbit skeletal muscle reacted with the anti-Tetrahymena dynein serum, whereas neither rabbit skeletal muscle myosin, chicken skeletal muscle tropomyosin nor chicken skeletal muscle troponin reacted with the antiserum. These results suggest that dynein and tubulin and probably actin share an antigenic determinant regardless of different protein species and of different animal species. The common antigenic determinant was detected only when the proteins denatured with urea/sodium dodecyl sulfate/beta-mercaptoethanol/N-ethylmaleimide were used, but it was not detected at all when the native proteins were used. This implies that a certain common antigenic determinant which is involved in the precipitin line formation exists in the primary structures of dyneins and tubulins and probably actin, and is hidden inside the tertiary structures of the native protein molecules.     

An antiserum to the sea urchin 20 S egg dynein reacts with embryonic ciliary dynein but it does not react with the mitotic apparatus

Unfertilized sea urchin eggs contain one or more dynein-like enzymes which may be able to serve as microtubule translocators during embryonic development. There are at least two interesting possibilities for the function of the egg dynein: the enzyme may be involved in cytoplasmic microtubule movement such as mitotic spindle anaphase motion; or the enzyme may be a stored precursor for the dynein that functions in embryonic cilia, which are expressed and highly motile at the blastula stage of development. In order to determine directly the distribution and possible function of one of the previously described egg dyneins, the latent-activity 20 S egg dynein (Asai and Wilson, 1985), an antiserum was produced which was highly reactive with the important high Mr polypeptides of 20 S dynein. This antiserum reacted in "Western" immunoblots and in dot-blotting experiments with egg dynein and with embryonic ciliary dynein, but it did not react with any component of sperm flagella. Indirect double immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrated that the anti-20 S antiserum could brightly stain embryonic cilia but it did not stain the sperm flagella from the same sea urchin species. Under the same conditions that the antiserum stained cilia, anti-20 S did not stain the mitotic apparatus but it did appear to stain the cortical region of the dividing egg. In a time-course experiment, the antigen reactive with the anti-20 S antiserum gradually accumulated in the developing early sea urchin embryo. The most significant increase in the apparent concentration of the 20 S dynein occurred just prior to embryonic ciliation and during a period when the mitotic activity of the embryo was in decline. These results lead to two conclusions. First, ciliary dynein and sperm flagellar dynein, although derived from very similar organelles and from the same species of sea urchin, are immunologically distinct. Second, the 20 S egg dynein may be a stored precursor of embryonic ciliary dynein and does not appear to be a component of the mitotic apparatus.     

Mice deficient in the axonemal protein Tektin-t exhibit male infertility and immotile-cilium syndrome due to impaired inner arm dynein function

The haploid germ cell-specific Tektin-t protein is a member of the Tektin family of proteins that form filaments in flagellar, ciliary, and axonemal microtubules. To investigate the physiological role of Tektin-t, we generated mice with a mutation in the tektin-t gene. The homozygous mutant males were infertile, while the females were fully fertile. Sperm morphology and function were abnormal, with frequent bending of the sperm flagella and marked defects in motility. In vitro fertilization assays showed that the defective spermatozoa were able to fertilize eggs. Electron microscopic examination showed that the dynein inner arm structure was disrupted in the sperm flagella of tektin-t-deficient mice. Furthermore, homozygous mutant mice had functionally defective tracheal cilia, as evidenced by altered dynein arm morphology. These results indicate that Tektin-t participates in dynein inner arm formation or attachment and that the loss of Tektin-t results in impaired motility of both flagella and cilia. Therefore, the tektin-t gene is one of the causal genes for immotile-cilium syndrome/primary ciliary dyskinesia.     

The motor activity of mammalian axonemal dynein studied in situ on doublet microtubules

Flagellar dynein generates forces that produce relative shearing between doublet microtubules in the axoneme; this drives propagated bending of flagella and cilia. To better understand dynein's role in coordinated flagellar and ciliary motion, we have developed an in situ assay in which polymerized single microtubules glide along doublet microtubules extruded from disintegrated bovine sperm flagella at a pH of 7.8. The exposed, active dynein remain attached to their respective doublet microtubules, allowing gliding of individual microtubules to be observed in an environment that allows direct control of chemical conditions. In the presence of ATP, translocation of microtubules by dynein exhibits Michaelis-Menten type kinetics, with V(max) = 4.7 +/- 0.2 microm/s and K(m) = 124 +/- 11 microM. The character of microtubule translocation is variable, including smooth gliding, stuttered motility, oscillations, buckling, complete dissociation from the doublet microtubule, and occasionally movements reversed from the physiologic direction. The gliding velocity is independent of the number of dynein motors present along the doublet microtubule, and shows no indication of increased activity due to ADP regulation. These results reveal fundamental properties underlying cooperative dynein activity in flagella, differences between mammalian and non-mammalian flagellar dynein, and establish the use of natural tracks of dynein arranged in situ on the doublet microtubules of bovine sperm as a system to explore the mechanics of the dynein-microtubule interactions in mammalian flagella.     

ODA16p, a Chlamydomonas flagellar protein needed for dynein assembly

Dynein motors of cilia and flagella function in the context of the axoneme, a very large network of microtubules and associated proteins. To understand how dyneins assemble and attach to this network, we characterized two Chlamydomonas outer arm dynein assembly (oda) mutants at a new locus, ODA16. Both oda16 mutants display a reduced beat frequency and altered swimming behavior, similar to previously characterized oda mutants, but only a partial loss of axonemal dyneins as shown by both electron microscopy and immunoblots. Motility studies suggest that the remaining outer arm dyneins on oda16 axonemes are functional. The ODA16 locus encodes a 49-kDa WD-repeat domain protein. Homologues were found in mammalian and fly databases, but not in yeast or nematode databases, implying that this protein is only needed in organisms with motile cilia or flagella. The Chlamydomonas ODA16 protein shares 62% identity with its human homologue. Western blot analysis localizes more than 90% of ODA16p to the flagellar matrix. Because wild-type axonemes retain little ODA16p but can be reactivated to a normal beat in vitro, we hypothesize that ODA16p is not an essential dynein subunit, but a protein necessary for dynein transport into the flagellar compartment or assembly onto the axoneme.     

Defects in the cytoplasmic assembly of axonemal dynein arms cause morphological abnormalities and dysmotility in sperm cells leading to male infertility

Axonemal protein complexes, such as outer (ODA) and inner (IDA) dynein arms, are responsible for the generation and regulation of flagellar and ciliary beating. Studies in various ciliated model organisms have shown that axonemal dynein arms are first assembled in the cell cytoplasm and then delivered into axonemes during ciliogenesis. In humans, mutations in genes encoding for factors involved in this process cause structural and functional defects of motile cilia in various organs such as the airways and result in the hereditary disorder primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). Despite extensive knowledge about the cytoplasmic assembly of axonemal dynein arms in respiratory cilia, this process is still poorly understood in sperm flagella. To better define its clinical relevance on sperm structure and function, and thus male fertility, further investigations are required. Here we report the fertility status in different axonemal dynein preassembly mutant males (DNAAF2/ KTU, DNAAF4/ DYX1C1, DNAAF6/ PIH1D3, DNAAF7/ZMYND10, CFAP300/C11orf70 and LRRC6). Besides andrological examinations, we functionally and structurally analyzed sperm flagella of affected individuals by high-speed video- and transmission electron microscopy as well as systematically compared the composition of dynein arms in sperm flagella and respiratory cilia by immunofluorescence microscopy. Furthermore, we analyzed the flagellar length in dynein preassembly mutant sperm. We found that the process of axonemal dynein preassembly is also critical in sperm, by identifying defects of ODAs and IDAs in dysmotile sperm of these individuals. Interestingly, these mutant sperm consistently show a complete loss of ODAs, while some respiratory cilia from the same individual can retain ODAs in the proximal ciliary compartment. This agrees with reports of solely one distinct ODA type in sperm, compared to two different ODA types in proximal and distal respiratory ciliary axonemes. Consistent with observations in model organisms, we also determined a significant reduction of sperm flagellar length in these individuals. These findings are relevant to subsequent studies on the function and composition of sperm flagella in PCD patients and non-syndromic infertile males. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the fertility status in PCD-affected males and should help guide genetic and andrological counselling for affected males and their families.     

The dynein heavy chain gene family in Tetrahymena thermophila

The dynein ATPases are a family of motor enzymes that drive microtubule sliding in cilia and flagella and contribute to microtubule-based transport inside cells. The multi-dynein hypothesis makes two predictions: 1) Axonemes contain multiple dynein heavy chain (DHC) isoforms, each encoded by a different gene; 2) Each isoform performs a specific role in ciliary beating. We used PCR-based techniques to clone thirteen different DHC sequences from Tetrahymena genomic DNA. All thirteen genes appeared to be expressed in growing cells. Comparisons of the deduced amino acid sequences of the thirteen DHCs with other known DHCs suggested that we have cloned three outer arm DHCs, two cytoplasmic DHCs, and eight inner arm DHCs.     

Molecular chaperones in cilia and flagella: implications for protein turnover

The mechanisms of protein incorporation and turnover in 9+2 ciliary axonemes are not known. Previous reports of an HSP70-related protein, first in Chlamydomonas flagella and then in sea urchin embryonic cilia, suggested a potential role in protein transport or incorporation. The present study further explores this and other chaperones in axonemes from a representative range of organisms. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis proved identity between the sea urchin ciliary 78 kDa HSP and a constitutive cytoplasmic HSP70 cognate (pI = 5.71). When isolated flagella from mature sea urchin sperm were analyzed, the same total amount and distribution of 78 kDa protein as in cilia were found. Antigens of similar size were detected in ctenophore comb plate, molluscan gill, and rabbit tracheal cilia. Absent from sea urchin sperm flagella, TCP-1alpha was detected in sea urchin embryonic and rabbit tracheal cilia; the latter also contained HSP90, detected by two distinct antibodies. Tracheal cilia were shown to undergo axonemal protein turnover while tracheal cells mainly synthesized ciliary proteins. TCP-1alpha progressively appeared in regenerating embryonic cilia only as their growth slowed, suggesting a regulatory role in incorporation or turnover. These results demonstrate that chaperones are widely distributed ciliary and flagellar components, potentially related to axonemal protein dynamics.     

High molecular weight protein detected in higher plant cells by antibodies against dynein is associated with vesicular organelles including Golgi apparatus

The cytoplasmic dynein is a multisubunit complex driving organelles along microtubules to their minus-end. We used antibodies against two functional domains (motor and microtubule-binding) of one of principal components of the complex--dynein heavy chain of slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum--to test root meristem cells of wheat Triticum aestivum. The antibodies reacted with a high molecular weight protein (> 500 kDa) in the total cell extract and the band recognized by the antibodies in plant extracts had a lower electrophoretic mobility than the high molecular weight band of mammalian dynein. Antibodies coupled to protein A-Sepharose precipitated the high molecular weight protein from the purified cell extracts. Immunocytochemical analysis demonstrated that the antigen recognized by antibodies against dynein heavy chains is associated with the vesicles whose localization depends on the cell cycle stage. The antigen-positive vesicles were localized to the perinuclear region in interphase and early prophase, to the spindle periphery and to spindle pole region during mitosis, and to the interzonal region in the period of fragmoplast and cell plate formation. Some antigen-positive vesicles also reacted with antibodies against Golgi protein markers. The obtained data indicate that higher plant cells contain a high molecular weight protein interacting with antibodies against the motor and microtubules-binding domains of Dictyostelium dynein heavy chain. The revealed antigen was associated with the vesicular structures in the cytoplasm including the Golgi apparatus.     

Branchial Cilia and Sperm Flagella Recruit Distinct Axonemal Components

Eukaryotic cilia and flagella have highly conserved 9 + 2 structures. They are functionally diverged to play cell-type-specific roles even in a multicellular organism. Although their structural components are therefore believed to be common, few studies have investigated the molecular diversity of the protein components of the cilia and flagella in a single organism. Here we carried out a proteomic analysis and compared protein components between branchial cilia and sperm flagella in a marine invertebrate chordate, Ciona intestinalis. Distinct feature of protein recruitment in branchial cilia and sperm flagella has been clarified; (1) Isoforms of α- and β-tubulins as well as those of actins are distinctly used in branchial cilia or sperm flagella. (2) Structural components, such as dynein docking complex, tektins and an outer dense fiber protein, are used differently by the cilia and flagella. (3) Sperm flagella are specialized for the cAMP- and Ca²⁺-dependent regulation of outer arm dynein and for energy metabolism by glycolytic enzymes. Our present study clearly demonstrates that flagellar or ciliary proteins are properly recruited according to their function and stability, despite their apparent structural resemblance and conservation.     

Molecular cloning and expression of sea urchin embryonic ciliary dynein beta heavy chain.

The determination of the structure and the expression of dynein during embryonic development are central to the understanding of dynein function. As an important first step toward these objectives, cDNAs encoding portions of sea urchin ciliary dynein were identified by antibody screening of a sea urchin cDNA expression library. Because of the complete lack of protein sequence data, it was first necessary to prove the identity of the dynein cDNAs. Of the five cDNA inserts initially cloned, one, designated P72A1, was characterized extensively. Four independent criteria demonstrated that P72A1 encoded a portion of a dynein heavy chain. (1) The beta-galactosidase-P72A1 fusion protein affinity-purified dynein-specific antibodies from crude antiserum. (2) Two other antisera to dynein, raised independently of the antiserum used to screen the cDNA library, reacted with the fusion protein. (3) A new antiserum raised against the fusion protein reacted with authentic dynein heavy chain on Western blots and stained embryonic cilia by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. (4) Two new antisera, elicited against opposite ends of the P72A1 open reading frame, each reacted with authentic dynein heavy chain protein. Western blot analyses of dissociated dynein heavy chains revealed that P72A1 encoded a portion of the beta heavy chain. Epitope mapping experiments confirmed the identity of P72A1 as part of the beta heavy chain and also demonstrated that P72A1 encoded epitopes of the carboxyl-terminal fragment B domain of the dynein beta heavy chain. Northern blot analyses of poly(A)+ RNA revealed that P72A1 hybridized with a large RNA species ca. 12.5 kb in length. The dynein mRNA concentration increased during embryonic development. Dot blot analyses of RNA isolated at various times after embryo deciliation demonstrated that the dynein beta heavy chain mRNA accumulated rapidly in response to deciliation. The accumulation was similar to but not identical with the induction of tubulin mRNA in response to the same stimulus.     

High molecular weight protein detected in higher plant cells by antibodies against dynein is associated with vesicular organelles including Golgi apparatus

The cytoplasmic dynein is a multisubunit complex driving organelles along microtubules to their minus-end. We used antibodies against two functional domains (motor and microtubule-binding) of one of principal components of the complex—dynein heavy chain of slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum—to test root meristem cells of wheat Triticum aestivum. The antibodies reacted with a high molecular weight protein (>500 kDa) in the total cell extract and the band recognized by the antibodies in plant extracts had a lower electrophoretic mobility than the high molecular weight band of mammalian dynein. Antibodies coupled to protein A-Sepharose precipitated the high molecular weight protein from the purified cell extracts. Immunocytochemical analysis demonstrated that the antigen recognized by antibodies against dynein heavy chains is associated with the vesicles whose localization depends on the cell cycle stage. The antigen-positive vesicles were localized to the perinuclear region in interphase and early prophase, to the spindle periphery and to spindle pole region during mitosis, and to the interzonal region in the period of fragmoplast and cell plate formation. Some antigen-positive vesicles also reacted with antibodies against Golgi protein markers. The obtained data indicate that higher plant cells contain a high molecular weight protein interacting with antibodies against the motor and microtubules-binding domains of Dictyostelium dynein heavy chain. The revealed antigen was associated with the vesicular structures in the cytoplasm including the Golgi apparatus.     

Ciliary motility: the components and cytoplasmic preassembly mechanisms of the axonemal dyneins

Motile cilia and flagella are organelles, which function in cell motility and in the transport of fluids over the surface of cells. Motility defects often result in a rare human disease, primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). Cell motility depends on axonemal dynein, a molecular motor that drives the beating of cilia and flagella. The dyneins are composed of multiple subunits, which are thought to be preassembled in the cytoplasm before they are transported into cilia and flagella. Axonemal dyneins have been extensively studied in Chlamydomonas. In addition, analyses of human PCDs over the past decade, together with studies in other model animals, have identified the conserved components required for dynein assembly. Recently also, the first cytoplasmic component of dynein assembly, kintoun (ktu), was elucidated through the analysis of a medaka mutant in combination with human genetics and cell biology and biochemical studies of Chlamydomonas. The components of dynein and the proteins involved in its cytoplasmic assembly process are discussed.     

Homology of the 74-kD cytoplasmic dynein subunit with a flagellar dynein polypeptide suggests an intracellular targeting function

In previous work we found cytoplasmic dynein to be a complex of two catalytic heavy chains and at least seven co-purifying polypeptides of unknown function. The most prominent of these is a 74-kD electrophoretic species which can be resolved as two to three bands by SDS-PAGE. We have now selected a series of overlapping rat brain cDNAs encoding the 74-kD species. The deduced sequence of a full-length cDNA predicts a 72,753 D polypeptide which includes the amino acid sequences of nine peptides determined by NH2-terminal microsequencing. PCR performed on first strand rat brain cDNA together with the sequence of a partially matching tryptic peptide indicated the existence of at least three isoforms of the 74-kD cytoplasmic dynein subunit. Comparison with known sequences revealed that the carboxyl-terminal half of the polypeptide is 26.4% identical and 47.7% similar to the product of the Chlamydomonas ODA6 gene, a 70-kD intermediate chain of flagellar outer arm dynein. Immunoblot analysis with a monoclonal antibody to the 74-kD species indicated a widespread tissue distribution, as expected for a cytoplasmic dynein subunit. Nonetheless, the antibody recognized a 67-kD species in ram sperm flagella and pig tracheal cilia, supporting the existence of distinct but related cytoplasmic and axonemal polypeptides in mammals. In view of evidence for a role for the ODA6 gene product in anchoring flagellar dynein to the A subfiber microtubule in the axoneme, we predict an analogous role for the 74-kD polypeptide, perhaps in mediating the interaction of cytoplasmic dynein with membranous organelles and kinetochores.     

Immunological relation between 14 S dynein and 30 S dynein from the cilia of Tetrahymena pyriformis.

The immunological relation between 14 S dynein and 30 S dynein obtained from Tetrahymena cilia was investigated by using antisera specific for each dynein subunit or some dynein subunits separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Although 14 and 30 S dynein main subunits have different electrophoretic mobilities, our immunodiffusion tests showed that there exists a close immunological relation between them. At least three immunologically different polypeptides designated polypeptides A, B and C are included in the 30 S dynein main band which has been recognized as a single component by electrophoresis, and that the polypeptides designated A',B' and C' are included in the 14 S dynein main bands. Polypeptides A and A',B and B', or C and C' appeared to have a certain common antigenic determinant(s). Polypeptide C of 30 S dynein was shown to possess a certain antigenic determinant(s) specific for 30 S dynein, besides the determinant common with that of polypeptide C' of 14S dynein. The second main component of 30 S dynein proved to be a specific polypeptide of 30 S dynein but not to be a degraded product of the main polypedtide. All antisera reacted with native dynein molecules to some extent, but did not inhibit dynein ATPase (ATP phosphohydrase, EC 3.6.1.3) activity significantly.     

Ap58: a novel in situ outer dynein arm-binding protein

Outer arm dynein is a molecular motor that is positioned at 24 nm intervals on outer doublet microtubules in cilia and flagella. In the present paper, we report identification of a 58 kDa novel protein with a tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR), referred to as ap58 (for 58 kDa axonemal protein) in sea urchin sperm axonemes. Ap58 is extracted along with the outer arm dynein by a high salt solution from axonemes. Sucrose density gradient centrifugation or gel filtration of the extract separates the outer arm dynein core from ap58. Most ap58 sediments to the lower density fraction or elutes in fractions of smaller molecules. However, immunogold localization reveals that ap58 is distributed at approximately 25 nm intervals on doublet microtubules, suggesting that in situ it is associated with the outer dynein arm. Thus, ap58 with the TPR motif is a new member of outer dynein arm-binding proteins distinct from the outer dynein arm-docking complex.