Biophysical Studies of the Molecular Motor Kinesin Koch Lab, UNM Dept. Physics and Center for High Technology Materials (CHTM) Steve Koch, DTRA Co-PI, Experimental Lead Asst. Prof. Physics and Astronomy Larry Herskowitz, IGERT Fellow Physics Ph.D. Student Anthony Salvagno, IGERT Fellow Physics Ph.D. Student Brigette Black Physics Ph.D. Student Andy Maloney, NSF IGERT Fellow Physics Ph.D. Student Igor Kuznetsov Postdoc Linh Le Physics B.S. @ UNM Now biophysics grad @ Ohio State “Kiney” Brian Josey Physics B.S. Student This talk was presented at the UNM department of chemistry on Sept. 11, 2009. I have tried to give appropriate credit on all images used—Steve Koch
Talk given by Steve at the Unviversity of New Mexico Chemistry Department on September 11, 2009. It is mostly still an introduction to our kinesin project, but now I'm able to include the latest results from gliding motility assay, tracking software, and stochastic kinetics simulation.
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Transcript
Biophysical Studies of the Molecular Motor KinesinKoch Lab, UNM Dept. Physics and Center for High Technology Materials (CHTM)
Steve Koch, DTRA Co-PI, Experimental LeadAsst. Prof. Physics and Astronomy
Larry Herskowitz, IGERT FellowPhysics Ph.D. Student
Anthony Salvagno, IGERT FellowPhysics Ph.D. Student
Brigette BlackPhysics Ph.D. Student
Andy Maloney, NSF IGERT FellowPhysics Ph.D. Student
Igor KuznetsovPostdoc
Linh LePhysics B.S. @ UNMNow biophysics grad @ Ohio State
“Kiney”
Brian JoseyPhysics B.S. Student
This talk was presented at the UNM department of chemistry on Sept. 11, 2009. I have tried to give appropriate credit on all images used—Steve Koch
Single-molecule manipulationOptical tweezers; magnetic tweezers; MEMS
Susan Atlas—Lead of the DTRA projectUNM Physics / Cancer Center / Director of CARC
Haiqing Liu—Microdevice applications of kinesinLANL & Center for Integrated Nanotechnology (CINT)
Evan Evans Lab—Single-molecule thermodynamics and kineticsU. New Mexico / U. British Columbia / Boston U.
TIR Illumination
Magnetic Beads
Computer ControlledElectromagnet
Magnetic FieldGradient ForceF
Single moleculetether (e.g. DNA)
CCD CameraNon-magnetic Aspheric
ScatteredEvanescent Light
TIR Illumination
Magnetic Beads
Computer ControlledElectromagnet
Magnetic FieldGradient ForceF
Single moleculetether (e.g. DNA)
CCD CameraNon-magnetic Aspheric
ScatteredEvanescent Light
Collaborations
Funding DTRA—Basic Science; CHTM—Startup; ACS—Jan Oliver IRG
KochLab Overview / Acknowledgments
Outline for today’s talk
Introduction to kinesin and microtubules
Overview of our DTRA-funded theory / experiment kinesin projectEffects of water on biomolecular interactions
Explanations of assays we use to study kinesin
Early experimental results and modeling!
Kinesin is a eukaryotic molecular motor proteinwith a number of intracellular functions
Mitosis Intracellular transport
Kinesin binds to microtubules and uses ATP hydolysis to walk along tubulin protofilaments
An overview of the two basic components of this system:
Microtubules
Kinesin
Microtubules are a key component of the system:kinesin does not move or catalyze ATP hydrolysisin absence of MTs
Goldstein Lab
25 nm
Microtubules are polymers of tubulin heterodimers
4 nm
8 nm
- + tubulin dimer
Protofilament
25 nm
Microtubules can be reliably polymerized in vitro
In living cells, predominant form of MTs have 13 protofilaments (PFs)
In vitro “reassembly” of microtubules was possible by the early 1970s (Borisy, Brinkley, …)
Typically performed with purified bovine or porcine brain tubulinProduces an assortment of MTs with varying numbers of PFs (usually not 13)Recombinant tubulin is not readily available
MTs are stabilized by taxol … chemical cross-linking is another strategy
Easily visualized by fluorescence microscopy
Kinesin binds to microtubules and uses ATP hydrolysis to walk along tubulin protofilaments
An overview of the two basic components of this system:
Microtubules
Kinesin
Goldstein Lab
Kinesin is a eukaryotic molecular motor proteinwith a number of intracellular functions
MitosisIntracellular transport
Vale, Reese, Sheetz, 1985, Cell 42 39-50. “Identification of a Novel Force-Generating Protein, Kinesin, Involved in Microtubule-Based Motility.”
At least 14 families of kinesin across all eukaryotes
E.g., Kinesin-5 is tetrameric kinesin: spindle formation
HHMI Winter Bulletin 2005
Kinesin-5 tetramers
Conventional kinesin-1 “walks” along protofiliments in hand-over-hand mechanism
Sablin and Fletterick, 2004 JBC
Processivity
Thorn, Ubersax, Vale JCB 2000
A possible mechanism for kinesin procession
Gray: coiled-coil; blue: catalytic core; white/green: α, β subunits of microtubulin heterodimer; red/orange/yellow: neck linker in successively more tightly-docked states on catalytic core; cargo not shown.
• Step 1: ATP binding to leading head initiates neck-linker docking with catalytic core
• Step 2: Neck-linker docking is completed by leading head, throwing trailing head forward by 16 nm toward next tubulin binding site.
• Step 3: After a random diffusional search, new leading head docks tightly onto the binding site, completing 8 nm motion of attached cargo. Polymer binding accelerates ADP release; trailing head hydrolyzes ATP to ADP-Pi.
• Step 4: ATP binds to leading head following ADP release, and neck-linker (orange) begins to zipper onto catalytic core. The trailing head, which has released its Pi and detached its neck linker (red) from its core, is in the process of being thrown forward.
R. D. Vale and R. A. Milligan, Science 288, 88 (2000).
Truncated, tagged conventional kinesin constructs
Coy, Hancock, Wagenbock, Howard (1999)
Full length conventional kinesin self-inhibits by tail binding to motor domain
Asbury, Fehr, Block (2003)
Recombinant kinesin expressed in E. coli, purified by his-tag methods
Limited commercial availability
Striving for atomistic insights into catalytic mechanism
Sablin and Fletterick, 2004 JBC
Much has been learned about kinesin at the stochastic (mechanical) level
But atomistic understanding of mechanochemistry is lacking
Our goal is to gain atomistic insight via a variety of experiments and simulations
Our DTRA Project: “Coupled Atomistic Modeling and Experimental Studies of Energy Transduction and Catalysis in the Molecular Motor Protein Kinesin”
Susan Atlas and Steve Valone (LANL)“Charge transfer embedded atom model” (CT-EAM)Atomistic modeling of kinesin catalytic core
Kochlab: Biophysical studies of kinesin
An initial connection between theory & experiment:Water!
CT-EAM can correctly model water; can make predictions abouthow osmotic pressure and heavy water will affect kinetics
Kochlab: Can vary water osmotic pressure; heavy / light water
Biophysicists have often ignored water Me too, before I saw work from Parsegian, Rand, Rau
1995
The osmotic stress method relies on changing water activity by adding high concentration of solutes
Parsegian, Rand, Rau, Methods in Enzymology 259 (1995)
“Osmolyte” (sucrose, betaine, PEG, …)Reduces the chemical potential of water
Molecule of interest has a shell of hydrating water molecules
Protein
DNA
Non-specific, Knonsp Specific complex, Ksp
Sidorova and Rau,PNAS 1996
No osmotic stress studies of kinesin untappedUtility proven in protein-DNA studies
Osmotic pressure helpfulFor increasing lifetime too
Osmotic stress increases myosin-actin affinity(only one study I’m aware of)
Highsmith et al. Biophys. J. 1996
No data exist for kinesin-MT
Potentially many high-impact results
So, our first line of experiments will utilize osmotic stress (and heavy water)
Properties of water will provide initial strong ties between theory and experiment
Provide a very interesting line of high-impact experiments
Also provide a connection to technological applications of kinesin / MT systemLong-term stability of kinesin and microtubulesUp-modulation of kinesin processivity? velocity? strength?
We will utilize two independent experimental platforms
“Easy”
Robust
Many experimental “knobs”
Limited readout
More difficult
Many experimental “knobs”
Many readout variables
Gliding motility assay
Andy, Brigette, Linh have gliding assayworking very well in our lab!
Passivated glass surface (casein)
Buffer includes ATP, antifade cocktail
The assay is a bit finicky…light-induced microtubuledisintegration is one problem.
Microtubule velocity in gliding assay is measured viaLabVIEW image tracking software written by Larry
Gliding motility assay will be our initial main assay
Operate in the high motor density regime
Main experimental result is transport velocity
Osmotic stress
Light / heavy water
Temperature, metal ions, ATP concentration
Site-directed mutagenesis
Experimental “knobs” to obtain datathat can be compared with theory in the iterative loop
Passivated glass surface (casein)
Buffer includes ATP, antifade cocktail
Bead motility assay
Adrian Fehr, Chip Asbury Science 2003Steve Block Lab, Stanford