• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.7 s.87
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• pp.889-895
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• 2007

A conventional kinesin, KIF5/kinesin-I, is composed of two kinesin heavy chains (KHCs) and two kinesin light chains (KLCs) and binds directly to microtubules. KIF5 motor mediates the transport of various membranous organelles, but the mechanism how they recognize and bind to a specific cargo has not yet been completely elucidated. Here, we used the yeast two-hybrid system to identify the neuronal protein(s) that interacts with the tetratricopeptide repeats (TRP) of KLCI and found a specific interaction with JNK/stress-activated protein kinase-associated protein 1 (JSAP1/JIPP3). The yeast two-hybrid assay demonstrated that the TRP 1,2 domain-containing region of KLCI mediated binding to the leucine zipper domain of JSAP1. JSAP1 also bound to the TRP region of lac2 but not to neuronal KIF5A, KIF5C and ubiquitous KIF5B in the yeast two-hybrid assay. In addition, these proteins showed specific interactions in the GST pull-down assay and by co-immunoprecipitation. KLCI and KIF5B interacted with GST-ISAP1 fusion proteins, but not with GST alone. An antibody to JSAPI specifically co-immunoprecipitated KIF5s associated with JSAP1 from mouse brain extracts. These results suggest that JSAP1, as KLC1 receptor, is involved in the KIF5 mediated transport.