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Three-dimensional structure of the kinesin headá¤-microtubule complex

Nature volume 376, pages 274–277 (1995)Cite this article

Abstract

KINESIN is a microtubule (MT)-associated 'motor' molecule fundamental to organelle transport1,2. Recently, various kinesin superfamily members (KIFs) have also been identified and suggested as being responsible for the transport of specific organelles3¤-5. Kinesin is a heterotetramer composed of two heavy chains and two light chains. The heavy chains form two globular heads, a rod and a fan-like tail completed by the light chains6,7. The globular head, which is composed of approximately 340 amino-terminal residues of the heavy chain, includes both ATP-binding and MT-binding domains, and its recombinant protein also has these properties8. To improve the understanding of the mechanism offeree generation by an MT-based molecular motor, kinesin, we report here the three-dimensional structure of the complex of a recombinant kinesin head and MTs, as revealed by helical reconstruction from cryo-electron micrographs. A kinesin head is a globular teardrop-like structure binding to the ridge of one protofilament of MTs. We have determined the polarity of the structure of the complex of MTs and the kinesin head in relation to MT polarity.

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Author notes

  1. Takashi Ishikawa

    Present address: Solar Energy Research Group, The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama, 351-01, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine,

    Masahide Kikkawa & Nobutaka Hirokawa

  2. Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113, Japan

    Takashi Ishikawa & Takeyuki Wakabayashi

Authors
  1. Masahide Kikkawa
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  2. Takashi Ishikawa
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  3. Takeyuki Wakabayashi
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  4. Nobutaka Hirokawa
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Kikkawa, M., Ishikawa, T., Wakabayashi, T. et al. Three-dimensional structure of the kinesin headá¤-microtubule complex. Nature 376, 274–277 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/376274a0

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