• 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.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.215-220
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• 2013

Against environmental stresses, many bacteria utilize the alternate sigma factor RpoS that induces transcription of the specific set of genes helpful in promoting bacterial survival. Intracellular levels of RpoS are determined mainly by its turnover through proteolysis of ClpXP protease. Delivery of RpoS to ClpXP strictly requires the adaptor protein RssB. The two-component-type response regulator RssB constantly interacts with RpoS, but diverse environmental changes inhibit this interaction through modification of RssB activity, which increases RpoS levels in bacteria. This review discusses and summarizes recent findings on regulatory factors in RssB-RpoS interactions, including IraD, IraM, IraP anti-adaptor proteins of RssB and phosphorylation of N-terminal receiver domain of RssB. New information shows that the coordinated regulation of RssB activity in controlling RpoS turnover confers efficient bacterial defense against stresses.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.1059-1065
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• 2008

KIF21A is a member of the Kinesin superfamily proteins (KIFs), which are microtubule-dependent molecular motors, anterograde axonal transporters of cargoes. Recently, congenital fibrosis of the extraocular muscles 1 (CFEOM1) has been shown to result from a small number of recurrent heterozygous missense mutations of KIF21A. CFEOM1 results from the inability of mutated KIF21A to successfully deliver cargoes to the development of the occulo-motor neuron or neuromuscular junction. Here, we used an yeast two-hybrid system to identify a protein that interacts with the WD-40 repeat domain of KIF21A and found a specific interaction with Purkinje cell protein-2 (Pcp-2), a small protein also known as L7. Pcp-2 protein bound to the WD-40 domain of KIF21A and KIF21B but not to other KIFs in yeast two-hybrid assays. In addition, this specific interaction was also observed in the glutathione S-transferase pull-down assay. An antibody to Pcp-2 specifically co-immunoprecipitated KIF21A associated with Pcp-2 from mouse brain extracts. These results suggest that Pcp-2 may be involved in the KIF21A-mediated transport as a KIF21A adaptor protein.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.868-875
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• 2023

Kinesin-1 is a motor protein identified as the first member of the kinesin superfamily (KIF), which plays a role in intracellular cargo transport by acting as microtubule-dependent motor proteins within cells. Kinesin-1 consists of two heavy chains (KHCs, also known as KIF5s) and two light chains (KLCs). The 93 amino acids in the carboxyl (C)-terminal tail region of KIF5A are not homologous to the C-terminal tail region of KIF5B or the C-terminal tail region of KIF5C. In this study, we used a yeast two-hybrid screen to identify the binding proteins that interacted with the C-terminal region of KIF5A. We found an association between KIF5A and CUE domain containing 2 (CUEDC2), which is proposed to function as an adaptor protein involved in ubiquitination pathways and protein trafficking. CUEDC2 bound to the C-terminal region of KIF5A and did not interact with KIF5B (the motor of kinesin-1), KIF3A (the motor of kinesin-2), or kinesin light chain 1 (KLC1). KIF5A specifically bound to the C-terminal region of CUEDC2. Furthermore, KIF5A did not interact with another isoform: CUEDC1. In addition, glutathione S-transferase (GST) pull-downs showed that KIF5A directly bound GST-CUEDC2 but did not interact with GST-CUEDC1 and GST alone. When myc-KIF5A and EGFP-CUEDC2 were co-expressed in HEK-293T cells, CUEDC2 co-immunoprecipitated with kinesin-1, and myc-KIF5A and FLAG-CUEDC2 colocalized in the cells. These results suggest that in intracellular cargo transport by kinesin-1, CUEDC2 serves as an adaptor protein connecting kinesin-1 and cargo by binding to KIF5A.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.10-17
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• 2020

Kinesin-1 is microtubule-dependent plus-end direct molecular motor protein essential for intracellular transport. It is a member of the kinesin superfamily proteins (KIFs) which transport cargo, including organelles, vesicles, neurotransmitter receptors, cell-signaling molecules, and protein complexes through interaction between its light chain subunit and the cargo. Kinesin light chain 1 (KLC1) is a non-motor subunit that associates with the kinesin heavy chain (KHC). Although KLC1 interacts with many different adaptor proteins and scaffolding proteins, its binding proteins have not yet been fully identified. We used the yeast two-hybrid assay to identify proteins that interact with the tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domain of KLC1, and found an interaction between KLC1 and EH domain-binding protein 1 like 1 (EHBP1L1). EHBP1L1 bound to the region containing all six TPR repeats of KLC1 and did not interact with KIF5B (a motor protein of kinesin 1) or KIF3A (a motor protein of kinesin 2) in the yeast two-hybrid assay. The carboxyl-terminus of the coiled-coil domain of EHBP1L1 is essential for interaction with KLC1. However, another EHBP1L1 isoform, EHBP1, did not interact with KLC1 in the yeast two-hybrid assay. KLC1 interacted with GST-EHBP1L1 and its coiled-coil domain but not with GST only. When co-expressed in HEK-293T cells, EHBP1L1 co-localized with KLC1 and co-immunoprecipitated with KLC1 and KIF5B but not KIF3A. These results suggest that kinesin 1 motor protein may transport EHBP1L1-associated cargo in cells.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.1 s.81
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• pp.18-23
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• 2007

Fe65, a neuron-specific adaptor protein, has two phosphotyrosine binding (PTB) domains. The second PTB (PTB2) domain interacts with intracellular domain fragment (AICD) of amyloid beta precursor protein (APP). Recent studies suggested that tile complex is composed of AICD and Fe65 transactivates genes that are responsible for neuronal cell death in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Therefore, a compound inhibiting the interaction between Fe65 and AICD can be a drug candidate to treat AD. However, it remains unclear how Fe65 recognizes AICD at a molecular level. Here, we report high-level production of the PTB2 domain of Fe65 in the baculovirus system. We found that the baculovirus system is an efficient method to obtain the Fe65 PTB2 domain, compared with the bacterial and mammalian expression systems. The purified recombinant protein was used for crystallization to determine its crystal structure helping to understand the molecular mechanism of Fe65-dependent signaling and to design its inhibitors.

• 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.24 no.1
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• pp.14-19
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• 2014

Kinesin-1 consists of two heavy chains (KHCs), also called KIF5s, and two light chains (KLCs) that form a heterotetrameric complex. Here, we demonstrate the binding of a neuronal KHC, KIF5A, to the carboxyl (C)-terminal tail region of Fig4 (also known as Sac3), a phosphatase that removes the 5-phosphate from phosphatidylinositol-3,5-bisphosphate ($PtdIns(3,5)P_2$). Fig4 bound to the C-terminal region of KIF5A but not to other KHCs (KIF5B and KIF5C) and KLC1 in yeast two-hybrid assays. The interaction was further confirmed in a glutathione S-transferase pull-down assay and by co-immunoprecipitation. Anti-KIF5A antibody co-immunoprecipitated Fig4 with KIF5A from mouse brain extracts. These results suggest that kinesin-1 could transport the Fig4-associated protein complex or cargo in cells.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2019

A chicken clathrin-associated adaptor protein $3-{\delta}$ subunit 2 (AP3S2) is a subunit of AP3, which is involved in cargo protein trafficking to target membrane with clathrin-coated vesicles. AP3S2 may play a role in virus entry into host cells through clathrin-dependent endocytosis. AP3S2 is also known to participate in metabolic disease developments of progressions, such as liver fibrosis with hepatitis C virus infection and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Chicken AP3S2 (chAP3S2) gene was originally identified as one of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in chicken kidney which was fed with different calcium doses. This study aims to characterize the molecular characteristics, gene expression patterns, and transcriptional regulation of chAP3S2 in response to the stimulation of Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) to understand the involvement of chAP3S2 in metabolic disease in chicken. As a result, the structure prediction of chAP3S2 gene revealed that the gene is highly conserved among AP3S2 orthologs from other species. Evolutionarily, it was suggested that chAP3S2 is relatively closely related to zebrafish, and fairly far from mammal AP3S2. The transcriptional profile revealed that chAP3S2 gene was highly expressed in chicken lung and spleen tissues, and under the stimulation of poly (I:C), the chAP3S2 expression was down-regulated in DF-1 cells (P<0.05). However, the presence of the transcriptional inhibitors, BAY 11-7085 (Bay) as an inhibitor for nuclear factor ${\kappa}B$ ($NF{\kappa}B$) or Tanshinone IIA (Tan-II) as an inhibitor for activated protein 1 (AP-1), did not affect the expressional level of chAP3S2, suggesting that these transcription factors might be dispensable for TLR3 mediated repression. These results suggest that chAP3S2 gene may play a significant role against viral infection and be involved in TLR3 signaling pathway. Further study about the transcriptional regulation of chAP3S2 in TLR3 pathways and the mechanism of chAP3S2 upon virus entry shall be needed.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.978-983
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• 2013

Kinesin-II, a molecular motor, consists of two different motor subunits, KIF3A and KIF3B, and one large kinesin superfamily-associated protein 3 (KAP3), forming a heterotrimeric complex. KAP3 is associated with the tail domains of motor subunits. However, its exact role remains unclear. Here, we demonstrated KAP3 binding to the carboxyl (C)-terminal tail region of HS-associated protein X-1 (HAX-1). HAX-1 bound to the C-terminal region of KAP3, but not to KIFs (KIF3A, KIF3B, and KIF5B) and the kinesin light chain (KLC) in the yeast two-hybrid assays. The interaction was further confirmed in the glutathione S-transferase (GST) pull-down assay and by co-immunoprecipitation. Anti- HAX-1 antibody as well as anti-KIF3A antibody co-immunoprecipitated KIF3B and KAP3 from mouse brain extracts. These results suggest that KAP3 could mediate the interaction between Kinesin-II and HAX-1.