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Cytoskeleton

Keeping minus ends stable

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 11, page 816 (2010)Cite this article

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A previous study in the Vale laboratory identified Patronin in an RNA interference (RNAi) screen for spindle morphology defects in Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells, in which Patronin depletion caused short mitotic spindles and microtubule fragments in interphase. Here, the authors further characterize Patronin function and observe that its depletion causes the unexpected appearance of short microtubules at the cell periphery and decreases the density of the interphase microtubule cytoskeleton. Some microtubules were seen to release from sites of nucleation, and these free microtubules moved towards the periphery of Patronin-depleted cells by treadmilling, a process in which tubulin is added to the plus end of microtubules and lost from the minus end at the same rate. In some cases, the rate of minus-end depolymerization was faster than the rate of plus-end polymerization (which is not altered by Patronin depletion), leading to the complete disappearance of microtubules. This finding is likely to account for the sparse interphase microtubule array in Patronin-depleted cells.

So, how are microtubule minus ends depolymerized in Patronin-depleted cells? Kinesin-13 family members are cytoskeletal motors that depolymerize microtubules and can bind to microtubule plus and minus ends in vitro. The authors individually expressed RNAi against the three D. melanogaster Kinesin-13 proteins (Kinesin-like protein 10A (KLP10A), KLP59C and KLP59D) in Patronin-depleted cells, and showed that only KLP10A depletion rescues the Patronin RNAi and short spindle phenotypes. KLP10A was observed along the depolymerizing minus ends of treadmilling microtubules in Patronin-depleted cells during interphase, supporting the conclusion that it actively depolymerizes microtubule minus ends in the absence of Patronin. Thus, in vivo, Patronin protects microtubule minus ends against KLP10A-induced depolymerization during interphase and mitosis.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Goodwin, S. S. & Vale, R. D. Patronin regulates the microtubule network by protecting microtubule minus ends. Cell 143, 263–274 (2010) Article

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FURTHER READING

  1. Akhmanova, A. & Steinmetz, M. O. Tracking the ends: a dynamic protein network controls the fate of microtubule tips. Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 9, 309–322 (2008)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

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Authors
  1. Katharine H. Wrighton
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Wrighton, K. Keeping minus ends stable. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 11, 816 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm3014

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