RNA interference-mediated silencing of mitotic kinesin KIF14 disrupts cell cycle progression and induces cytokinesis failure

KIF14 is a microtubule motor protein whose elevated expression is associated with poor-prognosis breast cancer. Here we demonstrate KIF14 accumulation in mitotic cells, where it associated with developing spindle poles and spindle microtubules. Cells at later stages of mitosis were characterized by the concentration of KIF14 at the midbody. Time-lapse microscopy revealed that strong RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated silencing of KIF14 induced cytokinesis failure, causing several rounds of endoreduplication and resulting in multinucleated cells. Additionally, less efficacious KIF14-specific short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) induced multiple phenotypes, all of which resulted in acute apoptosis. Our data demonstrate the ability of siRNA-mediated silencing to generate epiallelic hypomorphs associated with KIF14 depletion. Furthermore, the link we observed between siRNA efficacy and phenotypic outcome indicates that distinct stages during cell cycle progression are disrupted by the differential modulation of KIF14 expression.     

PRC1 controls spindle polarization and recruitment of cytokinetic factors during monopolar cytokinesis

The central spindle is a postanaphase array of microtubules that plays an essential role in organizing the signaling machinery for cytokinesis. The model by which the central spindle organizes the cytokinetic apparatus is premised on an antiparallel arrangement of microtubules, yet cells lacking spindle bipolarity are capable of generating a distal domain of ectopic furrowing when forced into mitotic exit. Because protein regulator of cytokinesis (PRC1) and kinesin family member 4A (KIF4A) are believed to play a principal role in organizing the antiparallel midzone array, we sought to clarify their roles in monopolar cytokinesis. Although both factors localized to the distal ends of microtubules during monopolar cytokinesis, depletion of PRC1 and KIF4A displayed different phenotypes. Cells depleted of PRC1 failed to form a polarized microtubule array or ectopic furrows following mitotic exit, and recruitment of Aurora B kinase, male germ cell Rac GTPase-activating protein, and RhoA to the cortex was impaired. In contrast, KIF4A depletion impaired neither polarization nor ectopic furrowing, but it did result in elongated spindles with a diffuse distribution of cytokinetic factors. Thus, even in the absence of spindle bipolarity, PRC1 appears to be essential for polarizing parallel microtubules and concentrating the factors responsible for contractile ring assembly, whereas KIF4A is required for limiting the length of anaphase microtubules.     

The nuclear F‐actin interactome of Xenopus oocytes reveals an actin‐bundling kinesin that is essential for meiotic cytokinesis

Nuclei of Xenopus laevis oocytes grow 100 000‐fold larger in volume than a typical somatic nucleus and require an unusual intranuclear F‐actin scaffold for mechanical stability. We now developed a method for mapping F‐actin interactomes and identified a comprehensive set of F‐actin binders from the oocyte nuclei. Unexpectedly, the most prominent interactor was a novel kinesin termed NabKin (Nuclear and meiotic actin‐bundling Kinesin). NabKin not only binds microtubules but also F‐actin structures, such as the intranuclear actin bundles in prophase and the contractile actomyosin ring during cytokinesis. The interaction between NabKin and F‐actin is negatively regulated by Importin‐β and is responsive to spatial information provided by RanGTP. Disconnecting NabKin from F‐actin during meiosis caused cytokinesis failure and egg polyploidy. We also found actin‐bundling activity in Nabkin's somatic paralogue KIF14, which was previously shown to be essential for somatic cell division. Our data are consistent with the notion that NabKin/KIF14 directly link microtubules with F‐actin and that such link is essential for cytokinesis.     

Human kinetochore-associated kinesin CENP-E visualized at 17 A resolution bound to microtubules

The highly dynamic process of cell division is effected, in part, by molecular motors that generate the forces necessary for its enactment. Several members of the kinesin superfamily of motor proteins are implicated in mitosis, such as CENP-E, which plays essential roles in cell division, including association with the kinetochore to stabilize attachment of chromosomes to microtubules prior to and during their separation. Neither the functional assembly state of CENP-E nor its direction of motion along the polar microtubule are certain. To determine the mode of interaction between CENP-E and microtubules, we have used cryo-electron microscopy to visualize CENP-E motor domains complexed with microtubules and calculated a density map of the complex to 17 A resolution by combining helical and single-particle reconstruction methods. The interface between the motor domain and microtubules was modeled by docking atomic-resolution models of the subunits into the cryoEM density map. Our results support a plus end motion for CENP-E, consistent with features of the crystallographic structure. Despite considerable functional differences from the monomeric transporter kinesin KIF1A and the oppositely directed ncd kinesin, CENP-E appears to share many features of the intermolecular interactions, suggesting that differences in motor function are governed by small variations in the loops at the microtubule interface.     

The motor domain of testis-enriched kinesin KIF9 is essential for its localization in the mouse flagellum

Kinesin is a molecular motor that moves along microtubules. Testis-enriched kinesin KIF9 (Kinesin family member 9) is localized in the mouse sperm flagellum and is important for normal sperm motility and male fertility; however, it is unclear if the motor domain of KIF9 is involved in these processes. In this study, we substituted threonine of the ATP binding motif in the KIF9 motor domain to asparagine (T100N) in mice using the CRISPR/Cas9 system, which is known to impair kinesin motor activity. T100N mutant mice exhibit reduced sperm motility and male fertility consistent with Kif9 knockout mice. Further, KIF9 was depleted in the spermatozoa of T100N mutant mice although the amounts of KIF9 were comparable between wild-type and T100N mutant testes. These results indicate that the motor domain of KIF9 is essential for its localization in the sperm flagellum.     

Kinesin family in murine central nervous system

In neuronal axons, various kinds of membranous components are transported along microtubules bidirectionally. However, only two kinds of mechanochemical motor proteins, kinesin and brain dynein, had been identified as transporters of membranous organelles in mammalian neurons. Recently, a series of genes that encode proteins closely related to kinesin heavy chain were identified in several organisms including Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Aspergillus niddulans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditus elegans, and Drosophila. Most of these members of the kinesin family are implicated in mechanisms of mitosis or meiosis. To address the mechanism of intracellular organelle transport at a molecular level, we have cloned and characterized five different members (KIF1-5), that encode the microtubule-associated motor domain homologous to kinesin heavy chain, in murine brain tissue. Homology analysis of amino acid sequence indicated that KIF1 and KIF5 are murine counterparts of unc104 and kinesin heavy chain, respectively, while KIF2, KIF3, and KIF4 are as yet unidentified new species. Complete amino acid sequence of KIF3 revealed that KIF3 consists of NH2-terminal motor domain, central alpha-helical rod domain, and COOH-terminal globular domain. Complete amino acid sequence of KIF2 revealed that KIF2 consists of NH2-terminal globular domain, central motor domain, and COOH-terminal alpha-helical rod domain. This is the first identification of the kinesin-related protein which has its motor domain at the central part in its primary structure. Northern blot analysis revealed that KIF1, KIF3, and KIF5 are expressed almost exclusively in murine brain, whereas KIF2 and KIF4 are expressed in brain as well as in other tissues. All these members of the kinesin family are expressed in the same type of neurons, and thus each one of them may transport its specific organelle in the murine central nervous system.     

Orbit, a novel microtubule-associated protein essential for mitosis in Drosophila melanogaster

We describe a Drosophila gene, orbit, that encodes a conserved 165-kD microtubule-associated protein (MAP) with GTP binding motifs. Hypomorphic mutations in orbit lead to a maternal effect resulting in branched and bent mitotic spindles in the syncytial embryo. In the larval central nervous system, such mutants have an elevated mitotic index with some mitotic cells showing an increase in ploidy. Amorphic alleles show late lethality and greater frequencies of hyperploid mitotic cells. The presence of cells in the hypomorphic mutant in which the chromosomes can be arranged, either in a circular metaphase or an anaphase-like configuration on monopolar spindles, suggests that polyploidy arises through spindle and chromosome segregation defects rather than defects in cytokinesis. A role for the Orbit protein in regulating microtubule behavior in mitosis is suggested by its association with microtubules throughout the spindle at all mitotic stages, by its copurification with microtubules from embryonic extracts, and by the finding that the Orbit protein directly binds to MAP-free microtubules in a GTP-dependent manner.     

Mitochondria-cytoskeleton associations in mammalian cytokinesis

Background

The role of the cytoskeleton in regulating mitochondrial distribution in dividing mammalian cells is poorly understood. We previously demonstrated that mitochondria are transported to the cleavage furrow during cytokinesis in a microtubule-dependent manner. However, the exact subset of spindle microtubules and molecular machinery involved remains unknown.

Methods

We employed quantitative imaging techniques and structured illumination microscopy to analyse the spatial and temporal relationship of mitochondria with microtubules and actin of the contractile ring during cytokinesis in HeLa cells.

Results

Superresolution microscopy revealed that mitochondria were associated with astral microtubules of the mitotic spindle in cytokinetic cells. Dominant-negative mutants of KIF5B, the heavy chain of kinesin-1 motor, and of Miro-1 disrupted mitochondrial transport to the furrow. Live imaging revealed that mitochondrial enrichment at the cell equator occurred simultaneously with the appearance of the contractile ring in cytokinesis. Inhibiting RhoA activity and contractile ring assembly with C3 transferase, caused mitochondrial mislocalisation during division.

Conclusions

Taken together, the data suggest a model in which mitochondria are transported by a microtubule-mediated mechanism involving equatorial astral microtubules, Miro-1, and KIF5B to the nascent actomyosin contractile ring in cytokinesis.

     

15 A resolution model of the monomeric kinesin motor, KIF1A

A two-headed structure has been widely believed to be essential for the kinesin molecular motor to move processively on the track, microtubules. However, we have recently demonstrated that a monomeric motor domain construct of KIF1A (C351), a kinesin superfamily protein, moves processively, taking about 700 steps before being detached from microtubules. To elucidate the mechanism of its single-headed processivity, we examined the C351 -MT interaction by mutant analysis and high-resolution cryo-EM. Mutant analysis indicated the importance of a highly positively charged loop, the "K loop," for such processivity. A 15 A resolution structure unambiguously docked with the available atomic models revealed "K loop" as an extra microtubule-binding domain specific to KIF1A, and bound to the C terminus of tubulin. The site-specific cross-linking further confirmed this model.     

KIF14 and citron kinase act together to promote efficient cytokinesis

Multiple mitotic kinesins and microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) act in concert to direct cytokinesis (Glotzer, M. 2005. Science. 307:1735-1739). In anaphase cells, many of these proteins associate with an antiparallel array of microtubules termed the central spindle. The MAP and microtubule-bundling protein PRC1 (protein-regulating cytokinesis 1) is one of the key molecules required for the integrity of this structure (Jiang, W., G. Jimenez, N.J. Wells, T.J. Hope, G.M. Wahl, T. Hunter, and R. Fukunaga. 1998. Mol. Cell. 2:877-885; Mollinari, C., J.P. Kleman, W. Jiang, G. Schoehn, T. Hunter, and R.L. Margolis. 2002. J. Cell Biol. 157:1175-1186). In this study, we identify an interaction between endogenous PRC1 and the previously uncharacterized kinesin KIF14 as well as other mitotic kinesins (MKlp1/CHO1, MKlp2, and KIF4) with known functions in cytokinesis (Hill, E., M. Clarke, and F.A. Barr. 2000. EMBO J. 19:5711-5719; Matuliene, J., and R. Kuriyama. 2002. Mol. Biol. Cell. 13:1832-1845; Kurasawa, Y., W.C. Earnshaw, Y. Mochizuki, N. Dohmae, and K. Todokoro. 2004. EMBO J. 23:3237-3248). We find that KIF14 targets to the central spindle via its interaction with PRC1 and has an essential function in cytokinesis. In KIF14-depleted cells, citron kinase but not other components of the central spindle and cleavage furrow fail to localize. Furthermore, the localization of KIF14 and citron kinase to the central spindle and midbody is codependent, and they form a complex depending on the activation state of citron kinase. Contrary to a previous study (Di Cunto, F., S. Imarisio, E. Hirsch, V. Broccoli, A. Bulfone, A. Migheli, C. Atzori, E. Turco, R. Triolo, G.P. Dotto, et al. 2000. Neuron. 28:115-127), we find a general requirement for citron kinase in human cell division. Together, these findings identify a novel pathway required for efficient cytokinesis.     

The UNC-104/KIF1 family of kinesins

Most UNC-104/KIF1 kinesins are monomeric motors that transport membrane-bounded organelles toward the plus ends of microtubules. Recent evidence implies that KIF1A, a synaptic vesicle motor, moves processively. This surprising behavior for a monomeric motor depends upon a lysine-rich loop in KIF1A that binds to the negatively charged carboxyl terminus of tubulin and, in the context of motor processivity, compensates for the lack of a second motor domain on the KIF1A holoenzyme.     

kakapo, a Gene Required for Adhesion Between and Within Cell Layers in Drosophila, Encodes a Large Cytoskeletal Linker Protein Related to Plectin and Dystrophin

Mutations in kakapo were recovered in genetic screens designed to isolate genes required for integrin-mediated adhesion in Drosophila. We cloned the gene and found that it encodes a large protein (>5,000 amino acids) that is highly similar to plectin and BPAG1 over the first 1,000–amino acid region, and contains within this region an α-actinin type actin-binding domain. A central region containing dystrophin-like repeats is followed by a carboxy domain that is distinct from plectin and dystrophin, having neither the intermediate filament-binding domain of plectin nor the dystroglycan/syntrophin-binding domain of dystrophin. Instead, Kakapo has a carboxy terminus similar to the growth arrest–specific protein Gas2. Kakapo is strongly expressed late during embryogenesis at the most prominent site of position-specific integrin adhesion, the muscle attachment sites. It is concentrated at apical and basal surfaces of epidermal muscle attachment cells, at the termini of the prominent microtubule bundles, and is required in these cells for strong attachment to muscles. Kakapo is also expressed more widely at a lower level where it is essential for epidermal cell layer stability. These results suggest that the Kakapo protein forms essential links among integrins, actin, and microtubules.     

Kinesin-1 plays a role in transport of SNAP-25 to the plasma membrane

The cellular molecular motor kinesin-1 mediates the microtubule-dependent transport of a range of cargo. We have previously identified an interaction between the cargo-binding domain of kinesin-1 heavy chain KIF5B and the membrane-associated SNARE proteins SNAP-25 and SNAP-23. In this study we further defined the minimal SNAP-25 binding domain in KIF5B to residues 874-894. Overexpression of a fragment of KIF5B (residues 594-910) resulted in significant colocalization with SNAP-25 with resulting blockage of the trafficking of SNAP-25 to the periphery of cells. This indicates that kinesin-1 facilitates the transport of SNAP-25 containing vesicles as a prerequisite to SNAP-25 driven membrane fusion events.     

The nucleoporin Nup358 associates with and regulates interphase microtubules

The nucleoporin Nup358 resides on the cytoplasmic face of the interphase nuclear pore complex (NPC). During metaphase, its recruitment to kinetochores is important for correct microtubule-kinetochore attachment. Here, we report that a fraction of endogenous Nup358 interacts with interphase microtubules through its N-terminal region (BPN). Cells overexpressing the microtubule targeting domain of Nup358 displayed dramatic alteration in the microtubule organization including increased microtubule bundling and stability. Ectopic expression of BPN and full-length Nup358 exhibited significantly higher levels of acetylated microtubules that were resistant to nocodazole, a microtubule depolymerizing agent. Furthermore, RNAi mediated depletion of Nup358 affected polarized stabilization of microtubules during directed cell migration, confirming the in vivo role of Nup358 in regulating interphase microtubules.     

KIFC3 promotes mitotic progression and integrity of the central spindle in cytokinesis

Kinesin-14 motor proteins play a variety of roles during metaphase and anaphase. However, it is not known whether members of this family of motors also participate in the dramatic changes in mitotic spindle organization during the transition from telophase to cytokinesis. We have identified the minus-end-directed motor, KIFC3, as an important contributor to central bridge morphology at this stage. KIFC3’s unique motor-dependent localization at the central bridge allows it to congress microtubules, promoting efficient progress through cytokinesis. Conversely, when KIFC3 function is perturbed, abscission is delayed, and the central bridge is both widened and extended. Examination of KIFC3 on growing microtubules in interphase indicates that it caps microtubules released from the centrosome, both in the region of the centrosome and in the cell periphery. In line with other kinesin-14 family members, KIFC3 may guide free microtubules to their destination at the bridge and/or may slide and crosslink central bridge microtubules in order to stage the cells for abscission.     

LIN-5 is a novel component of the spindle apparatus required for chromosome segregation and cleavage plane specification in Caenorhabditis elegans

Successful divisions of eukaryotic cells require accurate and coordinated cycles of DNA replication, spindle formation, chromosome segregation, and cytoplasmic cleavage. The Caenorhabditis elegans gene lin-5 is essential for multiple aspects of cell division. Cells in lin-5 null mutants enter mitosis at the normal time and form bipolar spindles, but fail chromosome alignment at the metaphase plate, sister chromatid separation, and cytokinesis. Despite these defects, cells exit from mitosis without delay and progress through subsequent rounds of DNA replication, centrosome duplication, and abortive mitoses. In addition, early embryos that lack lin-5 function show defects in spindle positioning and cleavage plane specification. The lin-5 gene encodes a novel protein with a central coiled-coil domain. This protein localizes to the spindle apparatus in a cell cycle- and microtubule-dependent manner. The LIN-5 protein is located at the centrosomes throughout mitosis, at the kinetochore microtubules in metaphase cells, and at the spindle during meiosis. Our results show that LIN-5 is a novel component of the spindle apparatus required for chromosome and spindle movements, cytoplasmic cleavage, and correct alternation of the S and M phases of the cell cycle.     

Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus ORF45 Interacts with Kinesin-2 Transporting Viral Capsid-Tegument Complexes along Microtubules

Open reading frame (ORF) 45 of Kaposi''s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is a tegument protein. A genetic analysis with a null mutant suggested a possible role for this protein in the events leading to viral egress. In this study, ORF45 was found to interact with KIF3A, a kinesin-2 motor protein that transports cargoes along microtubules to cell periphery in a yeast two-hybrid screen. The association was confirmed by both co-immunoprecipitation and immunoflorescence approaches in primary effusion lymphoma cells following virus reactivation. ORF45 principally mediated the docking of entire viral capsid-tegument complexes onto the cargo-binding domain of KIF3A. Microtubules served as the major highways for transportation of these complexes as evidenced by drastically reduced viral titers upon treatment of cells with a microtubule depolymerizer, nocodazole. Confocal microscopic images further revealed close association of viral particles with microtubules. Inhibition of KIF3A–ORF45 interaction either by the use of a headless dominant negative (DN) mutant of KIF3A or through shRNA-mediated silencing of endogenous KIF3A expression noticeably decreased KSHV egress reflecting as appreciable reductions in the release of extracellular virions. Both these approaches, however, failed to impact HSV-1 egress, demonstrating the specificity of KIF3A in KSHV transportation. This study thus reports on transportation of KSHV viral complexes on microtubules by KIF3A, a kinesin motor thus far not implicated in virus transportation. All these findings shed light on the understudied but significant events in the KSHV life cycle, delineating a crucial role of a KSHV tegument protein in cellular transport of viral particles.     

X‐ray and Cryo‐EM structures reveal mutual conformational changes of Kinesin and GTP‐state microtubules upon binding

The molecular motor kinesin moves along microtubules using energy from ATP hydrolysis in an initial step coupled with ADP release. In neurons, kinesin‐1/KIF5C preferentially binds to the GTP‐state microtubules over GDP‐state microtubules to selectively enter an axon among many processes; however, because the atomic structure of nucleotide‐free KIF5C is unavailable, its molecular mechanism remains unresolved. Here, the crystal structure of nucleotide‐free KIF5C and the cryo‐electron microscopic structure of nucleotide‐free KIF5C complexed with the GTP‐state microtubule are presented. The structures illustrate mutual conformational changes induced by interaction between the GTP‐state microtubule and KIF5C. KIF5C acquires the ‘rigor conformation’, where mobile switches I and II are stabilized through L11 and the initial portion of the neck‐linker, facilitating effective ADP release and the weak‐to‐strong transition of KIF5C microtubule affinity. Conformational changes to tubulin strengthen the longitudinal contacts of the GTP‐state microtubule in a similar manner to GDP‐taxol microtubules. These results and functional analyses provide the molecular mechanism of the preferential binding of KIF5C to GTP‐state microtubules.     

Altered Motor Activity of Alternative Splice Variants of the Mammalian Kinesin-3 Protein KIF1B

Several mammalian kinesin motor proteins exist as multiple isoforms that arise from alternative splicing of a single gene. However, the roles of many motor protein splice variants remain unclear. The kinesin-3 motor protein KIF1B has alternatively spliced isoforms distinguished by the presence or absence of insertion sequences in the conserved amino-terminal region of the protein. The insertions are located in the loop region containing the lysine-rich cluster, also known as the K-loop, and in the hinge region adjacent to the motor domain. To clarify the functions of these alternative splice variants of KIF1B, we examined the biochemical properties of recombinant KIF1B with and without insertion sequences. In a microtubule-dependent ATPase assay, KIF1B variants that contained both insertions had higher activity and affinity for microtubules than KIF1B variants that contained no insertions. Mutational analysis of the K-loop insertion revealed that variants with a longer insertion sequence at this site had higher activity. However, the velocity of movement in motility assays was similar between KIF1B with and without insertion sequences. Our results indicate that splicing isoforms of KIF1B that vary in their insertion sequences have different motor activities.