• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.840-848
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• 2017

Proper intracellular transport is essential for normal cell function. Intracellular transport is mediated by microtubule-dependent molecular motor proteins, as well as kinesin and cytoplasmic dynein, which move their cargo along long, microtubule tracks in cells. Kinesins are ATP-dependent plus-end-directed motor proteins in the intracellular transport of organelles, vesicles, RNA complexes, and protein complexes. The mislocalization of these different types of cargo has been linked to cell dysfunction and degeneration. The cargo transport of kinesins can be described by the following steps: binding to the appropriate cargo and/or adaptor proteins, activation of the kinesin's motility and movement along the microtubule, and the release of the cargo at the correct destination. Recently, several studies have revealed the mechanisms for the regulation of kinesin motor activity, including cargo loading and unloading. Intracellular cargo transport is also modulated by adaptor proteins, which link the kinesins to their cargo. The regulatory proteins, which include protein kinases and phosphatases, regulate kinesin motor activity directly through the phosphorylation or dephosphorylation of kinesins and indirectly through the modification of adaptor proteins, such as c-Jun NH-terminal kinase-interacting proteins, or of the microtubule network. These findings lay the groundwork for understanding how kinesins are differentially engaged in intracellular cargo transport. In addition, understanding the regulatory mechanisms of each kinesin is an area of key interest within cell biology and neurophysiology. In this study, we reviewed kinesins' regulation proteins and discuss how their regulation affects cargo recognition and transport.

• BMB Reports
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.138-146
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• 2000

In eukaryotes, chromosomes undergo a series of complex and coordinated movements during cell division. The kinesin motor proteins, such as the chicken Chromokinesin, are known to bind DNA and transport chromosomes on spindle microtubles. We previously cloned a family of retrograde C-terminus kinesins in Caenorhabditis elegans that mediate chromosomal movement during embryonic development. Here we report the cloning of a C. elegans klp-12 cDNA, encoding an ortholog of chicken Chromokinesin and mouse KIF4. The KLP-12 protein contains 1609 amino acid and harbors two leucine zipper motifs. The insitu RNA hybridization in embryonic stages shows that the klp-12 gene is expressed during the entire embryonic development. The RNA interference assay reveals that, similar to the role of Chromokinesin, klp-12 functions in chromosome segregation. These results support the notion that during mitosis both types, the anterograde N-terminus kinesins such as KLP-12 and the retrograde C-terminus kinesins, such as KLP-3, KLP-15, KLP-16, and KLP-17, may coordinate chromosome assembly at the metaphase plate and chromosomal segregation towards the spindle poles in C. elegans.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.723-730
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• 2007

Kinesin is an ATP-driven microtubule motor protein that plays important roles in control of microtubule dynamics, intracellular transport, cell division and signal transduction. The kinesin superfamily is composed of numerous members that are classified into 14 subfamilies. Animal kinesins have been well characterized. In contrast, plant kinesins have not yet to be characterized adequately. Here, a novel plant-specific kinesin gene, GhKCH2, has been cloned from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) fibers and biochemically identified by prokaryotic expression, affinity purification, ATPase activity assay and microtubule-binding analysis. The putative motor domain of GhKCH2, $M_{396-734}$ corresponding to amino acids Q396-N734 was fused with 6$\times$His-tag, soluble-expressed in E. coli and affinity-purified in a large amount. The biochemical analysis demonstrated that the basal ATPase activity of $M_{396-734}$ is not activated by $Ca^{2+}$, but stimulated 30-fold max by microtubules. The enzymatic activation is microtubule-concentration-dependent, and the concentration of microtubules that corresponds to half-maximum activation was about 11 ${\mu}M$, much higher than that of other kinesins reported. The cosedimentation assay indicated that $M_{396-734}$ could bind to microtubules in vitro whenever the nucleotide AMP-PNP is present or absent. As a plant-specific microtubule-dependent kinesin with a lower microtubule-affinity and a nucleotide-independent microtubule-binding ability, cotton GhKCH2 might be involved in the function of microtubules during the deposition of cellulose microfibrils in fibers or the formation of cell wall.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.44-52
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• 2007

Kinesins, as a kind of microtubule-based motor proteins, have a conserved microtubule-binding site in their motor domain. Here we report that two homologous kinesins in Arabidopsis thaliana, KatB and KatC, contain a second microtubule-binding site in their tail domains. The prokaryotic-expressed N-terminal tail domain of the KatC heavy chain can bind to microtubules in an ATP-insensitive manner. To identify the precise region responsible for the binding, a serious of truncated KatC cDNAs encoding KatC N-terminal regions in different lengths, KatC1-128, KatC1-86, KatC1-73 and KatC1-63, fused to Histidine-tags, were expressed in E. coli and affinity-purified. Microtubule cosedimentation assays show that the site at amino acid residues 74-86 in KatC is important for microtubule-binding. By similarity, we obtained three different lengths of KatB N-terminal regions, KatB1-384, KatB1-77, and KatB1-63, and analyzed their microtubule-binding ability. Cosedimentation assays indicate that the KatB tail domain can also bind to microtubules at the same site as and in a similar manner to KatC. Fluorescence microscopic observations show that the microtubule-binding site at the tail domain of KatB or KatC can induce microtubules bundling only when the stalk domain is present. Through pull-down assays, we show that KatB1-385 and KatC1-394 are able to interact specifically with themselves and with each other in vitro. These findings are significant for identifying a previously uncharacterized microtubule-binding site in the two kinesin proteins, KatB and KatC, and the functional relations between them.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.457-470
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• 2023

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of kinesin superfamily member 15 (KIF15) in nasopharyngeal carcinogenesis (NPC) and explore its underlying mechanisms. We employed various assays, including the CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry, the Transwell and scratch assay, Western blotting, and nude mice transplantation tumor, to investigate the impact of KIF15 on NPC. Our findings demonstrate that KIF15 plays a critical role in the proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of NPC cells. Furthermore, we discovered that silencing KIF15 inhibits cell proliferation, migration, and invasion while promoting apoptosis, and that KIF15's effect on NPC cell growth is mediated through the PI3K/AKT and P53 signaling pathways. Additionally, we showed that KIF15 promotes nasopharyngeal cancer cell growth in vivo. Our study sheds light on the significance of KIF15 in NPC by revealing that KIF15 knockdown inhibits NPC cell growth through the regulation of AKT-related signaling pathways. These findings suggest that KIF15 represents a promising therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of NPC.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2023

Intracellular cargo transport is mediated by molecular motor proteins, such as kinesin and cytoplasmic dynein. Kinesins make up a large subfamily of molecular motors. Kinesin-1 is a plus-end-directed molecular motor protein that moves various cargoes, such as organelles, protein complexes, and mRNAs, along a microtubule track. It consists of the kinesin superfamily protein (KIF) 5A, 5B, and 5C (also called kinesin heavy chains) and kinesin light chains (KLCs). Kinesin-1 interacts with many different binding proteins through its carboxyl (C)-terminal region of KIF5s and KLCs, but their binding proteins have not yet been fully identified. In this study, a yeast two-hybrid assay was used to identify the proteins that interact with the KIF5A specific C-terminal region. The assay revealed an interaction between KIF5A and glutamate-rich 4 (ERICH4). ERICH4 bound to the KIF5A specific the C-terminal region but did not interact with the C-terminal region of KIF5B or KIF3A (a motor protein of kinesin-2). In addition, KIF5A did not interact with another isoform, ERICH1. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) pull-downs showed that KIF5A interacts with GST-ERICH4 and GST-ERICH4-amino (N)-terminal but not with GST-ERICH4-C or GST alone. When co-expressed in HEK-293T cells, ERICH4 co-localized with KIF5A and co-immunoprecipitated with KIF5A and KLC but not KIF3B. Together, our findings suggest that ERICH4 is capable of binding to KIF5A and that it may serve as an adaptor protein that links kinesin-1 with cargo.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.531-537
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• 2023

Intracellular and axonal transport is mediated by microtubule-dependent motor proteins, such as kinesins and cytoplasmic dynein. Kinesin moves along the microtubule to the positive end of the microtubule, while dynein moves to the negative end of the microtubule. Kinesin-1 was first identified as a kinesin superfamily protein (KIF) that functions in the intracellular transport of various cargoes, including organelles, neurotransmitter receptors, and mRNA-protein complexes, through interactions between the carboxyl (C)-terminal domain and the cargo. It interacts with other cargoes, but the adapter/scaffold proteins that mediate between kinesin-1 and the cargo have yet to be fully identified. In this study, a yeast two-hybrid screen was used to identify adapter proteins that interact with the C-terminal region of KIF5A. We found an association between the C-terminal region of KIF5A and the cyclin-dependent kinase 2-associated protein 1 (CDK2AP1), originally identified in malignant hamster oral keratinocytes. CDK2AP1 bound to the C-terminal region of KIF5A and did not interact with KIF3A (the motor of kinesin-2), KIF5B, KIF5C, and kinesin light chain 1 (KLC1). The C-terminal region of CDK2AP1 is essential for its interaction with KIF5A. When co-expressed in HEK-293T cells, CDK2AP1 and kinesin-1 co-immunoprecipitated and co-localized in the cells. These results suggest that the KIF5A-CDK2AP1 interaction serves as an adapter protein connecting kinesin-1 and the cargo when kinesin-1 transports cargo in cells.