Interferometric Scattering Microscopy for the Study of Molecular Motors.

Our understanding of molecular motor function has been greatly improved by the development of imaging modalities, which enable real-time observation of their motion at the single-molecule level. Here, we describe the use of a new method, interferometric scattering microscopy, for the investigation of motor protein dynamics by attaching and tracking the motion of metallic nanoparticle labels as small as 20nm diameter. Using myosin-5, kinesin-1, and dynein as examples, we describe the basic assays, labeling strategies, and principles of data analysis. Our approach is relevant not only for motor protein dynamics but also provides a general tool for single-particle tracking with high spatiotemporal precision, which overcomes the limitations of single-molecule fluorescence methods.

Label-free, all-optical detection, imaging, and tracking of a single protein.

Optical detection of individual proteins requires fluorescent labeling. Cavity and plasmonic methodologies enhance single molecule signatures in the absence of any labels but have struggled to demonstrate routine and quantitative single protein detection. Here, we used interferometric scattering microscopy not only to detect but also to image and nanometrically track the motion of single myosin 5a heavy meromyosin molecules without the use of labels or any nanoscopic amplification. Together with the simple experimental arrangement, an intrinsic independence from strong electronic transition dipoles and a detection limit of <60 kDa, our approach paves the way toward nonresonant, label-free sensing and imaging of nanoscopic objects down to the single protein level.

Actin-dependent motility of melanosomes from fish retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells investigated using in vitro motility assays.

Melanosomes (pigment granules) within retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells of fish and amphibians undergo massive migrations in response to light conditions to control light flux to the retina. Previous research has shown that melanosome motility within apical projections of dissociated fish RPE cells requires an intact actin cytoskeleton, but the mechanisms and motors involved in melanosome transport in RPE have not been identified. Two in vitro motility assays, the Nitella assay and the sliding filament assay, were used to characterize actin-dependent motor activity of RPE melanosomes. Melanosomes applied to dissected filets of the Characean alga, Nitella, moved along actin cables at a mean rate of 2 microm/min, similar to the rate of melanosome motility in dissociated, cultured RPE cells. Path lengths of motile melanosomes ranged from 9 to 37 microm. Melanosome motility in the sliding filament assay was much more variable, ranging from 0.4-33 microm/min; 70% of velocities ranged from 1-15 microm/min. Latex beads coated with skeletal muscle myosin II and added to Nitella filets moved in the same direction as RPE melanosomes, indicating that the motility is barbed-end directed. Immunoblotting using antibodies against myosin VIIa and rab27a revealed that both proteins are enriched on melanosome membranes, suggesting that they could play a role in melanosome transport within apical projections of fish RPE.

Myosin-I nomenclature.

We suggest that the vertebrate myosin-I field adopt a common nomenclature system based on the names adopted by the Human Genome Organization (HUGO). At present, the myosin-I nomenclature is very confusing; not only are several systems in use, but several different genes have been given the same name. Despite their faults, we believe that the names adopted by the HUGO nomenclature group for genome annotation are the best compromise, and we recommend universal adoption.

Phosphorylation-dependent regulation is absent in a nonmuscle heavy meromyosin construct with one complete head and one head lacking the motor domain.

To understand the domain requirements of phosphorylation-dependent regulation, we prepared three recombinant constructs of nonmuscle heavy meromyosin IIB containing 1) two complete heads, 2) one complete head and one head lacking the motor domain, and 3) one complete head and one head lacking both motor and regulatory domains. Steady-state ATPase measurements showed that phosphorylation did not alter the affinity for actin by more than a factor of 2 for any construct. Phosphorylation increased V(max) by a factor of 10 for construct 1 and 1.5-3 for construct 2 but had no effect for construct 3. Single turnover measurements, a better measure of slow rates inherent to unphosphorylated regulated myosins, showed that the single-headed construct 2, like construct 3 retains less than 1% of the regulatory properties of the double-headed construct 1 (300-fold activation). Therefore, a complete head cannot be down-regulated by a regulatory domain (without the motor domain) on the partner head. Two motor domains are required for regulation. This result is predicted by a structural model (Wendt, T., Taylor, D., Messier, T., Trybus, K. M., and Taylor, K. A. (1999) J. Cell Biol. 147, 1385-1390) showing interaction between the motor domains for unphosphorylated smooth muscle myosin, if motor-motor interaction is the basis for down-regulation.

Human myosin XVBP is a transcribed pseudogene.

A novel human myosin gene located at 17q25 was identified through evaluation of genomic DNA sequence and designated myosin XVBP since it resembled human myosin XVA. In humans, myosin XVBP along with an adjacent gene, Lethal Giant Larvae 2 (LLGL2) appears to have arisen from a genomic duplication of a chromosomal interval that included LLGL and an ancestral myosin XV. Inspection of human myosin XVBP predicted amino acid sequence from genomic DNA revealed that 36 of the 131 conserved amino acid residues of the motor domain are substituted or deleted, including sequence changes within the regions involved in the binding of ATP and actin. Twelve myosin XVBP overlapping cDNAs from kidney and stomach mRNA samples were cloned and sequenced. Analyses of these myosin XVBP cDNAs revealed numerous additional disablements including translational reading frame shifts resulting in stop codons. From these data we conclude that myosin XVBP is a transcribed, unprocessed pseudogene.

In vitro motility assay to study translocation of actin by myosin.

A basic property of myosin is its ability to interact with and translocate actin. This unit describes an in vitro motility assay that can be used to study the translocation, or sliding, of actin filaments by myosin bound to a coverslip. The assay makes use of the ability to image single F-actin filaments labeled with rhodamine phalloidin, a high-affinity fluorescent ligand using fluorescence microscopy. The system is fast, easy to set up and maintain, uses only small amounts of protein, and yields quantitative results.

Two-headed binding of a processive myosin to F-actin.

Myosins are motor proteins in cells. They move along actin by changing shape after making stereospecific interactions with the actin subunits. As these are arranged helically, a succession of steps will follow a helical path. However, if the myosin heads are long enough to span the actin helical repeat (approximately 36 nm), linear motion is possible. Muscle myosin (myosin II) heads are about 16 nm long, which is insufficient to span the repeat. Myosin V, however, has heads of about 31 nm that could span 36 nm and thus allow single two-headed molecules to transport cargo by walking straight. Here we use electron microscopy to show that while working, myosin V spans the helical repeat. The heads are mostly 13 actin subunits apart, with values of 11 or 15 also found. Typically the structure is polar and one head is curved, the other straighter. Single particle processing reveals the polarity of the underlying actin filament, showing that the curved head is the leading one. The shape of the leading head may correspond to the beginning of the working stroke of the motor. We also observe molecules attached by one head in this conformation.

A conserved negatively charged amino acid modulates function in human nonmuscle myosin IIA.

A myosin surface loop (amino acids 391-404) is postulated to be an important actin binding site. In human beta-cardiac myosin, mutation of arginine-403 to a glutamine or a tryptophan causes hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. There is a phosphorylatable serine or threonine residue present on this loop in some lower eukaryotic myosin class I and myosin class VI molecules. Phosphorylation of the myosin I molecules at this site regulates their enzymatic activity. In almost all other myosins, the homologous residue is either a glutamine or an aspartate, suggesting that a negative charge at this location is important for activity. To study the function of this loop, we have used site-directed mutagenesis and baculovirus expression of a heavy meromyosin- (HMM-) like fragment of human nonmuscle myosin IIA. An R393Q mutation (equivalent to the R403Q mutation in human beta-cardiac muscle myosin) has essentially no effect on the actin-activated MgATPase or in vitro motility of the expressed HMM-like fragment. Three mutations, D399K, D399A, and a deletion mutation that removes residues 393-402, all decrease both the V(max) of the actin-activated MgATPase by 8-10-fold and the rate of in vitro motility by a factor of 2-3. The K(ATPase) of the actin-activated MgATPase activity and the affinity constant for binding of HMM to actin in the presence of ADP are affected by less than a factor of 2. These data support an important role for the negative charge at this location but show that it is not critical to enzymatic activity.

Kinetics of smooth muscle heavy meromyosin with one thiophosphorylated head.

Actin-activated MgATPase of smooth muscle heavy meromyosin is activated by thiophosphorylation of two regulatory light chains, one on each head domain. To understand cooperativity between heads, we examined the kinetics of heavy meromyosin (HMM) with one thiophosphorylated head. Proteolytic gizzard heavy meromyosin regulatory light chains were partially exchanged with recombinant thiophosphorylated His-tagged light chains, and HMM with one thiophosphorylated head was isolated by nickel-affinity chromatography. In vitro motility was observed. By steady-state kinetic analysis, one-head thiophosphorylated heavy meromyosin had a similar K(m) value for actin but a V(max) value of approximately 50% of the fully thiophosphorylated molecule. However, single turnover analysis, which is not sensitive to small amounts of active heads, showed that one-head thiophosphorylated heavy meromyosin was 46-120 times more active than unphosphorylated HMM but only 7-19% as active as the fully thiophosphorylated molecule. Discrepancy between the single turnover and steady-state values could be explained by a small fraction of rigor heads. These rigor heads would have a large effect on the steady-state kinetics of one-head thiophosphorylated HMM. In summary, thiophosphorylation of one head leads to a molecule with unique intermediate kinetics suggesting that thiophosphorylation of one head cooperatively alters the kinetics of the partner head and vice versa.

Myosins: a diverse superfamily.

Myosins constitute a large superfamily of actin-dependent molecular motors. Phylogenetic analysis currently places myosins into 15 classes. The conventional myosins which form filaments in muscle and non-muscle cells form class II. There has been extensive characterization of these myosins and much is known about their function. With the exception of class I and class V myosins, little is known about the structure, enzymatic properties, intracellular localization and physiology of most unconventional myosin classes. This review will focus on myosins from class IV, VI, VII, VIII, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV and XV. In addition, the function of myosin II in non-muscle cells will also be discussed.

Effect of ADP and ionic strength on the kinetic and motile properties of recombinant mouse myosin V.

Mouse myosin V is a two-headed unconventional myosin with an extended neck that binds six calmodulins. Double-headed (heavy meromyosin-like) and single-headed (subfragment 1-like) fragments of mouse myosin V were expressed in Sf9 cells, and intact myosin V was purified from mouse brain. The actin-activated MgATPase of the tissue-purified myosin V, and its expressed fragments had a high V(max) and a low K(ATPase). Calcium regulated the MgATPase of intact myosin V but not of the fragments. Both the MgATPase activity and the in vitro motility were remarkably insensitive to ionic strength. Myosin V and its fragments translocated actin at very low myosin surface densities. ADP markedly inhibited the actin-activated MgATPase activity and the in vitro motility. ADP dissociated from myosin V subfragment 1 at a rate of about 11.5 s(-1) under conditions where the V(max) was 3.3 s(-1), indicating that, although not totally rate-limiting, ADP dissociation was close to the rate-limiting step. The high affinity for actin and the slow rate of ADP release helps the myosin head to remain attached to actin for a large fraction of each ATPase cycle and allows actin filaments to be moved by only a few myosin V molecules in vitro.

Identification and analysis of the myosin superfamily in Drosophila: a database approach.

The recent sequencing of the genome of Drosophila melanogaster has provided a valuable resource for mining the database for genes of interest. We took advantage of this opportunity in an attempt to identify novel myosins in Drosophila and confirm the presence of the previously identified myosins from classes I, II, III, V, VI, and VII. The Drosophila database annotators predicted the structure of three additional proteins which we identified as novel unconventional myosins, two of which fell into classes XV and XVIII, respectively. Our own efforts predicted the presence of four additional partial sequences that appear to be myosin proteins which did not fall into any specific class. In the future comparative genomics will hopefully lead to the placement of these myosins into new classes.

Unique sequence of a high molecular weight myosin light chain kinase is involved in interaction with actin cytoskeleton.

Myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) is the key regulator of cell motility and smooth muscle contraction in higher vertebrates. We searched for the features of the high molecular weight MLCK (MLCK-210) associated with its unique N-terminal sequence not found in a more ubiquitous lower molecular weight MLCK (MLCK-108). MLCK-210 demonstrates stronger association with the Triton-insoluble cytoskeletons than MLCK-108, suggesting the role for this sequence in subcellular targeting. Indeed, the expressed unique domain of MLCK-210 binds and bundles F-actin in vitro and colocalises with the microfilaments in transfected cells reproducing endogenous MLCK-210 distribution. Thus, MLCK-210 features an extensive actin binding interface and, perhaps, acts as an actin cytoskeleton stabiliser.

Characterization of the human and mouse unconventional myosin XV genes responsible for hereditary deafness DFNB3 and shaker 2.

Mutations in myosin XV are responsible for congenital profound deafness DFNB3 in humans and deafness and vestibular defects in shaker 2 mice. By combining direct cDNA analyses with a comparison of 95.2 kb of genomic DNA sequence from human chromosome 17p11.2 and 88.4 kb from the homologous region on mouse chromosome 11, we have determined the genomic and mRNA structures of the human (MYO15) and mouse (Myo15) myosin XV genes. Our results indicate that full-length myosin XV transcripts contain 66 exons, are >12 kb in length, and encode 365-kDa proteins that are unique among myosins in possessing very long approximately 1200-aa N-terminal extensions preceding their conserved motor domains. The tail regions of the myosin XV proteins contain two MyTH4 domains, two regions with similarity to the membrane attachment FERM domain, and a putative SH3 domain. Northern and dot blot analyses revealed that myosin XV is expressed in the pituitary gland in both humans and mice. Myosin XV transcripts were also observed by in situ hybridization within areas corresponding to the sensory epithelia of the cochlea and vestibular systems in the developing mouse inner ear. Immunostaining of adult mouse organ of Corti revealed that myosin XV protein is concentrated within the cuticular plate and stereocilia of cochlear sensory hair cells. These results indicate a likely role for myosin XV in the formation or maintenance of the unique actin-rich structures of inner ear sensory hair cells.

Unconventional myosins and the genetics of hearing loss.

Mutations of the unconventional myosins genes encoding myosin VI, myosin VIIA and myosin XV cause hearing loss and thus these motor proteins perform fundamental functions in the auditory system. A null mutation in myosin VI in the congenitally deaf Snell's waltzer mice (Myo6(sv)) results in fusion of stereocilia and subsequent progressive loss of hair cells, beginning soon after birth, thus reinforcing the vital role of cytoskeletal proteins in inner ear hair cells. To date, there are no human families segregating hereditary hearing loss that show linkage to MYO6 on chromosome 6q13. The discovery that the mouse shaker1 (Myo7(ash1)) locus encodes myosin VIIA led immediately to the identification of mutations in this gene in Usher syndrome type 1B; subsequently, mutations in this gene were also found associated with recessive and dominant nonsyndromic hearing loss (DFNB2 and DFNA11). Stereocilla of sh1 mice are severely disorganized, and eventually degenerate as well. Myosin VIIA has been implicated in membrane trafficking and/or endocytosis in the inner ear. Mutant alleles of a third unconventional myosin, myosin XV, are associated with nonsyndromic, recessive, congenital deafness DFNB3 on human chromosome 17p11.2 and deafness in shaker2 (Myo15(sh2)) mice. In outer and inner hair cells, myosin XV protein is detectable in the cell body and stereocilia. Hair cells are present in homozygous sh2 mutant mice, but the stereocilia are approximately 1/10 of the normal length. This review focuses on what we know about the molecular genetics and biochemistry of myosins VI, VIIA and XV as relates to hereditary hearing loss. Am. J. Med. Genet. (Semin. Med. Genet.) 89:147-157, 1999. Published 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Analysis of the regulatory phosphorylation site in Acanthamoeba myosin IC by using site-directed mutagenesis.

The actin-activated ATPase activity of Acanthamoeba myosin IC is stimulated 15- to 20-fold by phosphorylation of Ser-329 in the heavy chain. In most myosins, either glutamate or aspartate occupies this position, which lies within a surface loop that forms part of the actomyosin interface. To investigate the apparent need for a negative charge at this site, we mutated Ser-329 to alanine, asparagine, aspartate, or glutamate and coexpressed the Flag-tagged wild-type or mutant heavy chain and light chain in baculovirus-infected insect cells. Recombinant wild-type myosin IC was indistinguishable from myosin IC purified from Acanthamoeba as determined by (i) the dependence of its actin-activated ATPase activity on heavy-chain phosphorylation, (ii) the unusual triphasic dependence of its ATPase activity on the concentration of F-actin, (iii) its Km for ATP, and (iv) its ability to translocate actin filaments. The Ala and Asn mutants had the same low actin-activated ATPase activity as unphosphorylated wild-type myosin IC. The Glu mutant, like the phosphorylated wild-type protein, was 16-fold more active than unphosphorylated wild type, and the Asp mutant was 8-fold more active. The wild-type and mutant proteins had the same Km for ATP. Unphosphorylated wild-type protein and the Ala and Asn mutants were unable to translocate actin filaments, whereas the Glu mutant translocated filaments at the same velocity, and the Asp mutant at 50% the velocity, as phosphorylated wild-type proteins. These results demonstrate that an acidic amino acid can supply the negative charge in the surface loop required for the actin-dependent activities of Acanthamoeba myosin IC in vitro and indicate that the length of the side chain that delivers this charge is important.

Tyrosine phosphorylation of the beta3 cytoplasmic domain mediates integrin-cytoskeletal interactions.

Tyrosine phosphorylation of the beta3 subunit of the major platelet integrin alphaIIb beta3 has been shown to occur during thrombin-induced platelet aggregation (1). We now show that a wide variety of platelet stimuli induced beta3 tyrosine phosphorylation, but that this phosphorylation occurred only following platelet aggregation. Several lines of evidence suggest that the beta3 cytoplasmic domain tyrosine residues and/or their phosphorylation function to mediate interactions between beta3 integrins and cytoskeletal proteins. First, phospho-beta3 was retained preferentially in a Triton X-100 insoluble cytoskeletal fraction of thrombin-aggregated platelets. Second, in vitro experiments show that the cytoskeletal protein, myosin, associated in a phosphotyrosine-dependent manner with a diphosphorylated peptide corresponding to residues 740-762 of beta3. Third, mutation of both tyrosines in the beta3 cytoplasmic domain to phenylalanines markedly reduced beta3-dependent fibrin clot retraction. Thus, our data indicate that platelet aggregation is both necessary and sufficient for beta3 tyrosine phosphorylation, and this phosphorylation results in the physical linkage of alphaIIb beta3 to the cytoskeleton. We hypothesize that this linkage may involve direct binding of the phosphorylated integrin to the contractile protein myosin in order to mediate transmission of force to the fibrin clot during the process of clot retraction.