Loss of dystrophin and the microtubule-binding protein ELP-1 causes progressive paralysis and death of adult C. elegans.

EMAP-like proteins (ELPs) are conserved microtubule-binding proteins that function during cell division and in the behavior of post-mitotic cells. In Caenorhabditis elegans, ELP-1 is broadly expressed in many cells and tissues including the touch receptor neurons and body wall muscle. Within muscle, ELP-1 is associated with a microtubule network that is closely opposed to the integrin-based adhesion sites called dense bodies. To examine ELP-1 function, we utilized an elp-1 RNA interference assay and screened for synthetic interactions with mutated adhesion site proteins. We reveal a synthetic lethal relationship between ELP-1 and the dystrophin-like protein, DYS-1. Reduction of ELP-1 in a dystrophin [dys-1(cx18)] mutant results in adult animals with motility defects, splayed and hypercontracted muscle with altered cholinergic signaling. Worms fill with vesicles, become flaccid, and die. We conclude that ELP-1 is a genetic modifier of a C. elegans model of muscular dystrophy.

The C. elegans EMAP-like protein, ELP-1 is required for touch sensation and associates with microtubules and adhesion complexes.

BACKGROUND: The founding member of the EMAP-like protein family is the Echinoderm Microtubule-Associated Protein (EMAP), so-named for its abundance in sea urchin, starfish, and sand dollar eggs. The EMAP-like protein family has five members in mammals (EML1 through EML5) and only one in both Drosophila (ELP-1) and C. elegans (ELP-1). Biochemical studies of sea urchin EMAP and vertebrate EMLs implicate these proteins in the regulation of microtubule stability. So far, however, the physiological function of this protein family remains unknown. RESULTS: We examined the expression pattern of C. elegans ELP-1 by means of transgenic gene expression in living embryos and adults, and by immunolocalization with an ELP-1-specific antibody in fixed tissues. In embryos, ELP-1 is expressed in the hypodermis. In larvae and adults, ELP-1 is expressed in the body wall, spermatheca and vulval muscles, intestine, and hypodermal seam cells. In muscle, ELP-1 is associated with adhesion complexes near the cell surface and is bound to a criss-crossing network of microtubules in the cytoplasm. ELP-1 is also expressed in a subset of mechanoreceptor neurons, including the ray neurons in the male tail, microtubule-rich touch receptor neurons, and the six ciliated IL1 neurons. This restricted localization in the nervous system implies that ELP-1 plays a role in mechanotransmission. Consistent with this idea, decreasing ELP-1 expression decreases sensitivity to gentle touch applied to the body wall. CONCLUSION: These data imply that ELP-1 may play an important role during the transmission of forces and signals between the body surface and both muscle cells and touch receptor neurons.

Vault ribonucleoprotein particles and the central mass of the nuclear pore complex.

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are macromolecular pores that span the nuclear envelope and undergo conformational changes in response to changes in cisternal calcium levels. Depletion of cisternal calcium leads to the appearance of a mass within the pore. The identity and role of this central mass remain unknown, although some studies suggest they are vault complexes. Vault complexes are 13 MDa ribonucleoproteins found in the cytoplasm and recently in the nuclei of some species, suggesting that they associate with NPCs to cross the nuclear envelope. Using Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements between labeled vaults and NPCs, we find significant energy transfer suggesting that vaults and NPCs are closely associated at the nuclear envelope. This is supported by high-resolution electron microscopy measurements revealing significant spatial correlations between gold-labeled vaults and NPCs. As the location of the central mass in the NPC is dependent on cisternal calcium levels, FRET signals under conditions of varying cisternal calcium were also measured and shown to undergo significant changes. Together, these findings suggest that the central mass observed in NPCs may be, at least in part, due to the presence of vaults in the pore. Possible roles in cyto-nuclear trafficking are discussed.

The major vault protein is related to the toxic anion resistance protein (TelA) family.

Vaults are barrel-shaped ribonucleoprotein particles that are abundant in certain tumors and multidrug resistant cancer cells. Prokaryotic relatives of the major vault protein, MVP, have not been identified. We used sequence analysis and molecular modeling to show that MVP and the toxic anion resistance protein, TelA of Rhodobacter sphaeroides strain 2.4.1, share a novel fold that consists of a three-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet. Because of this strong structural correspondence, we examined whether mammalian cell vaults respond to tellurite treatment. In the presence of the oxyanion tellurite, large vault aggregates, or vaultosomes, appear at the cell periphery in 15 min or less. Vaultosome formation is temperature-dependent, reversible, and occurs in normal human umbilical vein endothelial cells as well as transformed HeLa cervical cancer cells. Vaultosome formation is not restricted to tellurite and occurs in the presence of other toxic oxyanions (selenate, selinite, arsenate, arsenite, vanadate). In addition, vaultosomes form independently from other stress-induced ribonucleoprotein complexes, stress granules and aggresomes. Vaultosome formation is therefore a unique cellular response to an environmental toxin.

Paclitaxel-induced microtubule stabilization causes mitotic block and apoptotic-like cell death in a paclitaxel-sensitive strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae tubulin does not bind the anti-mitotic microtubule stabilizing agent paclitaxel. Previously, we introduced mutations into the S. cerevisiae gene for beta-tubulin that imparted paclitaxel binding to the protein, but the mutant strain was not sensitive to paclitaxel and other microtubule-stabilizing agents, due to the multiple ABC transporters in the membranes of budding yeast. Here, we introduced the mutated beta-tubulin gene into a S. cerevisiae strain with diminished transporter activity and developed the first paclitaxel-sensitive budding yeast strain. In the presence of paclitaxel, cytoplasmic microtubules were stable to cold depolymerization. Paclitaxel-treated cells showed evidence of a mitotic block, with an increase in large-budded cells and cells with a 2N DNA content and DNA fragmentation, identified by FACS analysis and the TUNEL assay. In the presence of paclitaxel, the number of dead cells in cultures increased three-fold and cells containing reactive oxygen species were present. We conclude that paclitaxel blocks mitosis in this strain, leading to an apoptotic-like cell death. This strain will also be useful in further studies of the effect of microtubule dynamics on various cellular processes in S. cerevisiae.

Seawi--a sea urchin piwi/argonaute family member is a component of MT-RNP complexes.

The piwi/argonaute family of proteins is involved in key developmental processes such as stem cell maintenance and axis specification through molecular mechanisms that may involve RNA silencing. Here we report on the cloning and characterization of the sea urchin piwi/argonaute family member seawi. Seawi is a major component of microtubule-ribonucleoprotein (MT-RNP) complexes isolated from two different species of sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus and Paracentrotus lividus. Seawi co-isolates with purified ribosomes, cosediments with 80S ribosomes in sucrose density gradients, and binds microtubules. Seawi possesses the RNA binding motif common to piwi family members and binds P. lividus bep4 mRNA, a transcript that co-isolates with MT-RNP complexes and whose translation product has been shown to play a role in patterning the animal-vegetal axis. Indirect immunofluorescence studies localized seawi to the cortex of unfertilized eggs within granule-like particles, the mitotic spindle during cell division, and the small micromeres where its levels were enriched during the early cleavage stage. Lastly, we discuss how seawi, as a piwi/argonaute family member, may play a fundamentally important role in sea urchin animal-vegetal axis formation and stem cell maintenance.

Sea urchin vault structure, composition, and differential localization during development.

BACKGROUND: Vaults are intriguing ribonucleoprotein assemblies with an unknown function that are conserved among higher eukaryotes. The Pacific coast sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, is an invertebrate model organism that is evolutionarily closer to humans than Drosophila and C. elegans, neither of which possesses vaults. Here we compare the structures of sea urchin and mammalian vaults and analyze the subcellular distribution of vaults during sea urchin embryogenesis. RESULTS: The sequence of the sea urchin major vault protein (MVP) was assembled from expressed sequence tags and genome traces, and the predicted protein was found to have 64% identity and 81% similarity to rat MVP. Sea urchin MVP includes seven approximately 50 residue repeats in the N-terminal half of the protein and a predicted coiled coil domain in the C-terminus, as does rat MVP. A cryoelectron microscopy (cryoEM) reconstruction of isolated sea urchin vaults reveals the assembly to have a barrel-shaped external structure that is nearly identical to the rat vault structure. Analysis of the molecular composition of the sea urchin vault indicates that it contains components that may be homologs of the mammalian vault RNA component (vRNA) and protein components (VPARP and TEP1). The sea urchin vault appears to have additional protein components in the molecular weight range of 14-55 kDa that might correspond to molecular contents. Confocal experiments indicate a dramatic relocalization of MVP from the cytoplasm to the nucleus during sea urchin embryogenesis. CONCLUSIONS: These results are suggestive of a role for the vault in delivering macromolecules to the nucleus during development.

Vaults bind directly to microtubules via their caps and not their barrels.

Vaults are large (13 Mda) ribonucleoprotein particles that are especially abundant in multidrug resistant cancer cells and have been implicated in nucleocytoplasmic drug transport. To understand how these large barrel-shaped complexes are transported through the cytosol, we examined the association of vaults with microtubules both in vitro and in vivo. Within cells, a subpopulation of vaults clearly associates with microtubules, and these vaults remain associated with tubulin dimers/oligomers when microtubules are disassembled by nocodazole treatment. In vitro, a microtubule-pull down assay using highly purified rat vaults and reassembled microtubules reveals that vaults exhibit concentration-dependent binding to microtubules that does not require the carboxyl terminal end of tubulin. Remarkably, negative staining for electron microscopy reveals that vault binding to microtubules is mediated by the vault caps; more than 82% of bound vaults attach to the microtubule lattice with their long axes perpendicular to the long axis of the microtubule. Five to six vault particles were bound per micron of microtubule, with no crosslinking of microtubules observed, suggesting that only one end of the vault can bind microtubules. Taken together, the data support the model of vaults as barrel-shaped containers that transiently interact with microtubules.

The two alpha-tubulin isotypes in budding yeast have opposing effects on microtubule dynamics in vitro.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has two genes for alpha-tubulin, TUB1 and TUB3, and one beta-tubulin gene, TUB2. The gene product of TUB3, Tub3, represents approximately 10% of alpha-tubulin in the cell. We determined the effects of the two alpha-tubulin isotypes on microtubule dynamics in vitro. Tubulin was purified from wild-type and deletion strains lacking either Tub1 or Tub3, and parameters of microtubule dynamics were examined. Microtubules containing Tub3 as the only alpha-tubulin isotype were less dynamic than wild-type microtubules, as shown by a shrinkage rate and catastrophe frequency that were about one-third of that for wild-type microtubules. Conversely, microtubules containing Tub1 as the only alpha-tubulin isotype were more dynamic than wild-type microtubules, as shown by a shrinkage rate that was 50% higher and a catastrophe frequency that was 30% higher than those of wild-type microtubules. The results suggest that a role of Tub3 in budding yeast is to control microtubule dynamics.

beta-Tubulin C354 mutations that severely decrease microtubule dynamics do not prevent nuclear migration in yeast.

Microtubule dynamics are influenced by interactions of microtubules with cellular factors and by changes in the primary sequence of the tubulin molecule. Mutations of yeast beta-tubulin C354, which is located near the binding site of some antimitotic compounds, reduce microtubule dynamicity greater than 90% in vivo and in vitro. The resulting intrinsically stable microtubules allowed us to determine which, if any, cellular processes are dependent on dynamic microtubules. The average number of cytoplasmic microtubules decreased from 3 in wild-type to 1 in mutant cells. The single microtubule effectively located the bud site before bud emergence. Although spindles were positioned near the bud neck at the onset of anaphase, the mutant cells were deficient in preanaphase spindle alignment along the mother-bud axis. Spindle microtubule dynamics and spindle elongation rates were also severely depressed in the mutants. The pattern and extent of cytoplasmic microtubule dynamics modulation through the cell cycle may reveal the minimum dynamic properties required to support growth. The ability to alter intrinsic microtubule dynamics and determine the in vivo phenotype of cells expressing the mutant tubulin provides a critical advance in assessing the dynamic requirements of an essential gene function.

Epothilone and paclitaxel: unexpected differences in promoting the assembly and stabilization of yeast microtubules.

Paclitaxel (Taxol) and the epothilones are antimitotic agents that promote the assembly of mammalian tubulin and stabilization of microtubules. The epothilones competitively inhibit the binding of paclitaxel to mammalian brain tubulin, suggesting that the two types of compounds share a common binding site in tubulin, despite the lack of structural similarities. It is known that paclitaxel does not stabilize microtubules formed in vitro from Saccharomyces cerevisiae tubulin; thus, it would be expected that the epothilones would not affect yeast microtubules. However, we found that epothilone A and B do stimulate the formation of microtubules from purified yeast tubulin. In addition, epothilone B severely dampens the dynamics of yeast microtubules in vitro in a manner similar to the effect of paclitaxel on mammalian microtubules. We used current models describing paclitaxel and epothilone binding to mammalian beta-tubulin to explain why paclitaxel apparently fails to bind to yeast tubulin. We propose that three amino acid substitutions in the N-terminal region and at position 227 in yeast beta-tubulin weaken the interaction of the 3'-benzamido group of paclitaxel with the protein. These results also indicate that mutagenesis of yeast tubulin could help define the sites of interaction with paclitaxel and the epothilones.

The human EMAP-like protein-70 (ELP70) is a microtubule destabilizer that localizes to the mitotic apparatus.

In this report, we show that the echinoderm microtubule (MT)-associated protein (EMAP) and related EMAP-like proteins (ELPs) share a similar domain organization with a highly conserved hydrophobic ELP (HELP) domain and a large tryptophan-aspartic acid (WD) repeat domain. To determine the function of mammalian ELPs, we generated antibodies against a 70-kDa human ELP and showed that ELP70 coassembled with MTs in HeLa cell extracts and colocalized with MTs in the mitotic apparatus. To determine whether ELP70 bound to MTs directly, human ELP70 was expressed and purified to homogeneity from baculovirus-infected Sf9 cells. Purified ELP70 bound to purified MTs with a stoichiometry of 0.40 +/- 0.04 mol of ELP70/mol of tubulin dimer and with an intrinsic dissociation constant of 0.44 +/- 0.13 microm. Using a nucleated assembly assay and video-enhanced differential interference contrast microscopy, we demonstrated that ELP70 reduced seeded nucleation, reduced the growth rate, and promoted MT catastrophes in a concentration-dependent manner. As a result, ELP70-containing MTs were significantly shorter than MTs assembled from tubulin alone. These data indicate that ELP70 is a novel MT destabilizer. A lateral destabilization model is presented to describe ELP70's effects on microtubules.