Observation of microtubule-based motor protein activity

Isolation of microtubule-based motor proteins by ATP release from paclitaxel-stabilized microtubules

The α-β-tubulin heterodimer is asymmetric, and when asymmetric subunits assemble in a head-to-tail fashion, they produce a polymer that is itself asymmetric. Microtubules are therefore polar polymers having a head (or plus) end and a tail (or minus) end. Both ends can be distinguished kinetically because they add and lose subunits at different rates. Because of this inherent asymmetry, translocation of a particle along a microtubule from the head to the tail is a different molecular event than is translocation from the minus to the plus end. Currently, two classes of microtubule-dependent motor proteins are recognized: Those that are plus-end-directed (i.e., kinesin-like) and those that are minus-end-directed (dynein-like). The kinesin family of proteins in humans contains at least 14 classes of kinesins, a grouping based on tertiary and quaternary structure considerations, as well as on enzymatic activity. The dyneins are organized into two groups: Axonemal dyneins and cytoplasmic dyneins. This protocol provides methods for the enrichment of kinesin or cytoplasmic dynein, based on the differential interactions of each type of motor protein with microtubules in the presence of different nucleotides. For a cleaner preparation of motor proteins, the protocol includes steps for the further separation of kinesin and dynein from one another by sucrose gradient centrifugation.

Isolation and analysis of microtubules and associated proteins

Microtubules, microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), and motor proteins are essential components of all eukaryotic cells. They are all involved in mitosis and in the movement of organelles, proteins, and vesicles in cells. MAPs act as structural elements of the microtubule component of the cytoskeleton, whereas molecular motors propel cargo along microtubule tracks or translocate microtubules in the cytoplasm. This introduction provides an overview of procedures developed by many labs to isolate microtubules from cell homogenates, purify tubulin, MAPs, and motor proteins from microtubules preparations, and analyze kinesin and cytoplasmic dynein activity by video-enhanced differential interference contrast microscopy and fluorescence microscopy. These ingenious microscope-based assays, which were developed to determine the motility characteristics of kinesin and dynein, reveal, in clear and dramatic fashion, the activity of these amazing nanomachines in real time.