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Direct interaction of microtubule- and actin-based transport motors

Nature volume 397, pages 267–270 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

The microtubule network is thought to be used for long-range transport of cellular components in animal cells whereas the actinnetwork is proposed to be used for short-range transport1, although the mechanism(s) by which this transport is coordinated is poorly understood. For example, in sea urchins long-range Ca2+-regulated transport of exocytotic vesicles requires a microtubule-based motor, whereas an actin-based motor is used for short-range transport2. In neurons, microtubule-based kinesin motor proteins are used for long-range vesicular transport3 but microtubules do not extend into the neuronal termini, where actin filaments form the cytoskeletal framework4, and kinesins are rapidly degraded upon their arrival in neuronal termini5, indicating that vesicles may have to be transferred from microtubules to actin tracks to reach their final destination. Here we show that an actin-based vesicle-transport motor, MyoVA (ref. 6), can interact directly with a microtubule-based transport motor, KhcU. As would be expected if these complexes were functional, they also contain kinesin light chains and the localization of MyoVA and KhcU overlaps in the cell. These results indicate that cellular transport is, in part, coordinated through the direct interaction of different motor molecules.

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Figure 1: Domains of MyoVA, showing the baits (numbered 1–12) used in yeast two-hybrid screens and the region of MyoVA that interacts with KhcU.
Figure 2: Specificity of the interaction between MyoVA and KhcU.
Figure 3: MyoVA interacts with KhcU in mammalian cells.
Figure 4: MyoVA co-immunoprecipitates with KhcU and Klc (kinesin light chain) in normal cell extracts.
Figure 5: MyoVA and KhcU proteins often co-localize in Melan-a cells.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Hammer for the MyoVA antibody DIL-2; S. J. Elledge for the pAS2vector and Y187 yeast strain; S. Hollenberg for the mouse embryonic cDNA library; and R. Frederickson for help with graphics. This work was supported by the National Cancer Institute, DHHS, under contract with ABL, and by a grant to S.T.B. from the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke NINDS, a joint grant from NASA and the National Institute of Aging, and a grant from the Welch Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ABL-Basic Research Program, NCI-Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center, Frederick, 21702, Maryland, USA

    Jian-Dong Huang, James H. Resau, Neal G. Copeland & Nancy A. Jenkins

  2. Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, 75235, Texas, USA

    Scott T. Brady, Bruce W. Richards & David Stenoien

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  1. Jian-Dong Huang
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Correspondence to Nancy A. Jenkins.

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Huang, JD., Brady, S., Richards, B. et al. Direct interaction of microtubule- and actin-based transport motors. Nature 397, 267–270 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/16722

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