A synergistic relationship between three regions of stathmin family proteins is required for the formation of a stable complex with tubulin (original) (raw)
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Stathmin Family Proteins Display Specific Molecular and Tubulin Binding Properties
Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2001
Stathmin family phosphoproteins (stathmin, SCG10, SCLIP, and RB3/RB3/RB3؆) are involved in signal transduction and regulation of microtubule dynamics. With the exception of stathmin, they are expressed exclusively in the nervous system, where they display different spatio-temporal and functional regulations and hence play at least partially distinct and possibly complementary roles in relation to the control of development, plasticity, and neuronal activities. At the molecular level, each possesses a specific "stathmin-like domain" and, with the exception of stathmin, various combinations of N-terminal extensions involved in their association with intracellular membrane compartments. We show here that each stathmin-like domain also displays specific biochemical and tubulin interaction properties. They are all able to sequester two ␣ / tubulin heterodimers as revealed by their inhibitory action on tubulin polymerization and by gel filtration. However, they differ in the stabilities of the complexes formed as well as in their interaction kinetics with tubulin followed by surface plasmon resonance as follows: strong stability and slow kinetics for RB3; medium for SCG10, SCLIP, and stathmin; and weak stability and rapid kinetics for RB3. These results suggest that the fine-tuning of their stathmin-like domains contributes to the specific functional roles of stathmin family proteins in the regulation of microtubule dynamics within the various cell types and subcellular compartments of the developing or mature nervous system. Formation, plasticity, and activities of the mature nervous system require numerous coordinated events such as cell proliferation and migration, neurite extension, guidance toward targets, synapse formation, and stability. Intracellular signaling and cytoskeleton dynamics are key processes for these events, in which stathmin family phosphoproteins are good candidates for playing a significant role. The generic element of this phylogenetically conserved family (reviewed in Ref. 1) is stathmin, also designated Op18 (2), a ubiquitous cytosoluble phosphoprotein most highly expressed in the nervous system. The stathmin family further includes SCG10, SCLIP, RB3, and its splice variants RB3Ј and RB3Љ, expressed exclusively in
FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 2016
Stathmin is a prominent destabilizer of microtubules (MTs). Extensive in vitro studies have strongly suggested that stathmin could act by sequestering tubulin and/or by binding to MT tips. In cells, the molecular mechanisms of stathmin binding to tubulin and/or MTs and its implications for the MT dynamics remain unexplored. By using immunofluorescence resonance energy transfer and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, we analyzed the ability of stathmin and its phosphorylated forms (on Ser16, -25, -38, and -63) to interact with tubulin and MTs in A549 cells. Consistent with in vitro studies, we detected stathmin-tubulin interactions at the MT plus ends and in the cytosol. Of interest, we also observed a novel pool of stathmin bound along the MT. Expression of truncated stathmin and use of MT-stabilizing taxol further showed that the C-terminal domain of stathmin is the main contributor to this binding and that the phosphorylation state of stathmin plays a role in its binding a...
Model for stathmin/OP18 binding to tubulin
Embo Journal, 2000
Stathmin/OP18 is a regulatory phosphoprotein that controls microtubule (MT) dynamics. The protein does not have a defined three-dimensional structure, although it contains three distinct regions (an unstructured N-terminus, N: 1-44; a region with high helix propensity, H 1: 44-89; and a region with low helix propensity, H 2: 90-142). The full protein and a combination of H 1 and H 2 inhibits tubulin polymerization, while the combination of H 1 and the N-terminus is less efficient. None of the individual three regions alone are functional in this respect. However, all of them cross-link to α-tubulin, but only full-length stathmin produces high-molecular-weight products. Mass spectrometry analysis of α-tubulin-stathmin/OP18 and its truncation products shows that full-length stathmin/ OP18 binds to the region around helix 10 of α-tubulin, a region that is involved in longitudinal interactions in the MT, sequestering the dimer and possibly linking two tubulin heterodimers. In the absence of the N-terminus, stathmin/OP18 binds to only one molecule of α-tubulin, at the top of the free tubulin heterodimer, preventing polymerization.
Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2010
Tubulin is able to switch between a straight microtubule-like structure and a curved structure in complex with the stathminlike domain of the RB3 protein (T 2 RB3). GTP hydrolysis following microtubule assembly induces protofilament curvature and disassembly. The conformation of the labile tubulin heterodimers is unknown. One important question is whether free GDP-tubulin dimers are straightened by GTP binding or if GTP-tubulin is also curved and switches into a straight conformation upon assembly. We have obtained insight into the bending flexibility of tubulin by analyzing the interplay of tubulinstathmin association with the binding of several small molecule inhibitors to the colchicine domain at the tubulin intradimer interface, combining structural and biochemical approaches.
Drosophila Stathmins Bind Tubulin Heterodimers with High and Variable Stoichiometries
Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2010
In vertebrates, stathmins form a family of proteins possessing two tubulin binding repeats (TBRs), which each binds one soluble tubulin heterodimer. The stathmins thus sequester two tubulins in a phosphorylation-dependent manner, providing a link between signal transduction and microtubule dynamics. In Drosophila, we show here that a single stathmin gene (stai) encodes a family of D-stathmin proteins. Two of the D-stathmins are maternally deposited and then restricted to germ cells, and the other two are detected in the nervous system during embryo development. Like in vertebrates, the nervous systemenriched stathmins contain an N-terminal domain involved in subcellular targeting. All the D-stathmins possess a domain containing three or four predicted TBRs, and we demonstrate here, using complementary biochemical and biophysical methods, that all four predicted TBR domains actually bind tubulin. D-stathmins can indeed bind up to four tubulins, the resulting complex being directly visualized by electron microscopy. Phylogenetic analysis shows that the presence of regulated multiple tubulin sites is a conserved characteristic of stathmins in invertebrates and allows us to predict key residues in stathmin for the binding of tubulin. Altogether, our results reveal that the single Drosophila stathmin gene codes for a stathmin family similar to the multigene vertebrate one, but with particular tubulin binding properties.
Stathmin Regulates Centrosomal Nucleation of Microtubules and Tubulin Dimer/Polymer Partitioning
Molecular Biology of The Cell, 2009
Stathmin is a microtubule-destabilizing protein ubiquitously expressed in vertebrates and highly expressed in many cancers. In several cell types, stathmin regulates the partitioning of tubulin between unassembled and polymer forms, but the mechanism responsible for partitioning has not been determined. We examined stathmin function in two cell systems: mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) isolated from embryos ؉/؉, ؉/؊, and ؊/؊ for the stathmin gene and porcine kidney epithelial (LLCPK) cells expressing stathmin-cyan fluorescent protein (CFP) or injected with stathmin protein. In MEFs, the relative amount of stathmin corresponded to genotype, where cells heterozygous for stathmin expressed half as much stathmin mRNA and protein as wild-type cells. Reduction or loss of stathmin resulted in increased microtubule polymer but little change to microtubule dynamics at the cell periphery. Increased stathmin level in LLCPK cells, sufficient to reduce microtubule density, but allowing microtubules to remain at the cell periphery, also did not have a major impact on microtubule dynamics. In contrast, stathmin level had a significant effect on microtubule nucleation rate from centrosomes, where lower stathmin levels increased nucleation and higher stathmin levels reduced nucleation. The stathmin-dependent regulation of nucleation is only active in interphase; overexpression of stathmin-CFP did not impact metaphase microtubule nucleation rate in LLCPK cells and the number of astral microtubules was similar in stathmin ؉/؉ and ؊/؊ MEFs. These data support a model in which stathmin functions in interphase to control the partitioning of tubulins between dimer and polymer pools by setting the number of microtubules per cell.