The Ndc80 kinetochore complex forms oligomeric arrays along microtubules

The Ndc80 complex is a key site of regulated kinetochore-microtubule attachment (a process required for cell division), but the molecular mechanism underlying its function remains unknown. Here we present a subnanometre-resolution cryo-electron microscopy reconstruction of the human Ndc80 complex bound to microtubules, sufficient for precise docking of crystal structures of the component proteins. We find that the Ndc80 complex binds the microtubule with a tubulin monomer repeat, recognizing α- and β-tubulin at both intra- and inter-tubulin dimer interfaces in a manner that is sensitive to tubulin conformation. Furthermore, Ndc80 complexes self-associate along protofilaments through interactions mediated by the amino-terminal tail of the NDC80 protein, which is the site of phospho-regulation by Aurora B kinase. The complex's mode of interaction with the microtubule and its oligomerization suggest a mechanism by which Aurora B could regulate the stability of load-bearing kinetochore-microtubule attachments.     

Molecular mechanisms of nociception

The sensation of pain alerts us to real or impending injury and triggers appropriate protective responses. Unfortunately, pain often outlives its usefulness as a warning system and instead becomes chronic and debilitating. This transition to a chronic phase involves changes within the spinal cord and brain, but there is also remarkable modulation where pain messages are initiated - at the level of the primary sensory neuron. Efforts to determine how these neurons detect pain-producing stimuli of a thermal, mechanical or chemical nature have revealed new signalling mechanisms and brought us closer to understanding the molecular events that facilitate transitions from acute to persistent pain.     

Feeding mechanisms: Hummingbird jaw bends to aid insect capture

The upper jaws of birds, unlike those in many tetrapods, move relative to the skull and are often flexible along their length, whereas the lower jaw (mandible) is usually a rigid structure formed by the fusion of several bones, flexing only where it meets the skull. Here we describe a previously unnoticed mandibular bending movement in hummingbirds, in which the distal half of the mandible is actively flexed downwards and the gape widens to catch flying insects. The hummingbird is thought to have developed a long narrow bill as it specialized in feeding on floral nectar, but the bird's need to supplement its diet with insects must have contributed to the surprising flexibility of its jaw.     

Force production by disassembling microtubules

Microtubules (MTs) are important components of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton: they contribute to cell shape and movement, as well as to the motions of organelles including mitotic chromosomes. MTs bind motor enzymes that drive many such movements, but MT dynamics can also contribute to organelle motility. Each MT polymer is a store of chemical energy that can be used to do mechanical work, but how this energy is converted to motility remains unknown. Here we show, by conjugating glass microbeads to tubulin polymers through strong inert linkages, such as biotin-avidin, that depolymerizing MTs exert a brief tug on the beads, as measured with laser tweezers. Analysis of these interactions with a molecular-mechanical model of MT structure and force production shows that a single depolymerizing MT can generate about ten times the force that is developed by a motor enzyme; thus, this mechanism might be the primary driving force for chromosome motion. Because even the simple coupler used here slows MT disassembly, physiological couplers may modulate MT dynamics in vivo.     

Molecular mechanisms and clinical applications of angiogenesis

Blood vessels deliver oxygen and nutrients to every part of the body, but also nourish diseases such as cancer. Over the past decade, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis (blood vessel growth) has increased at an explosive rate and has led to the approval of anti-angiogenic drugs for cancer and eye diseases. So far, hundreds of thousands of patients have benefited from blockers of the angiogenic protein vascular endothelial growth factor, but limited efficacy and resistance remain outstanding problems. Recent preclinical and clinical studies have shown new molecular targets and principles, which may provide avenues for improving the therapeutic benefit from anti-angiogenic strategies.     

Movement of microtubules by single kinesin molecules

Kinesin is a motor protein that uses energy derived from ATP hydrolysis to move organelles along microtubules. Using a new technique for measuring the movement produced in vitro by individual kinesin molecules, it is shown that a single kinesin molecule can move a microtubule for several micrometers. New information about the mechanism of force generation by kinesin is presented.     

Molecular mechanisms that confer antibacterial drug resistance

Antibiotics--compounds that are literally 'against life'--are typically antibacterial drugs, interfering with some structure or process that is essential to bacterial growth or survival without harm to the eukaryotic host harbouring the infecting bacteria. We live in an era when antibiotic resistance has spread at an alarming rate and when dire predictions concerning the lack of effective antibacterial drugs occur with increasing frequency. In this context it is apposite to ask a few simple questions about these life-saving molecules. What are antibiotics? Where do they come from? How do they work? Why do they stop being effective? How do we find new antibiotics? And can we slow down the development of antibiotic-resistant superbugs?     

运动细胞初始极化阶段胞内信号分子双向积聚的分子机制及动态数值模拟

真核细胞（Eukaryotes）,如盘基网柄菌细胞（Dictyo stelium）和白细胞（Leukocyte）等,受到前方传来的外信号刺激后,胞内物质发生两种方向相反的运动：胞质中与质膜结合的磷酸激酶PI3K及其在质膜上的生成物磷脂酰肌醇-3,4,5-三磷酸PI（3,4,5）P3以向前扩散的方式积聚到前沿;而胞质中与质膜结合的磷酸酶PTEN及其在质膜上的生成物磷脂酰肌醇-4,5-双磷酸PI（4,5）P2以向后扩散的方式积聚到质膜的后边.通过这种＂双向积聚＂,细胞形成头部和尾部,并在前沿生出伪足,完成初始极化.本文根据已知的实验,分析了＂双向积聚＂的分子机制,建立了相应的数学模型,通过数值模拟加以分析.以胞内被激活的小G蛋白（Rac）为触发信号,其梯度与外信号场的梯度一致;PI3K和PTEN作为调控因子,PI（3,4,5）P3和PI（4,5）P2作为标识细胞极化的信号分子,它们的浓度变化由一组耦合的非稳态二维反应-扩散方程描述.该反应-扩散体系源项中包含：PI（3,4,5）P3对PI3K,PI（4,5）P2对PTEN的识别和结合过程,是由蒙特-卡诺（Monte-Carlo）法处理;质膜结合态PI3K和PTEN对PI（3,4,5）P3和PI（4,5）P2施加的酶催化作用,由Michaelis-Menten动力学过程描述.反应-扩散方程组采用格子Boltzmann方法进行数值求解.数值试验显示,产生＂双向积聚＂的关键是受外信号梯度刺激后的胞内信号分子相互激发或抑制所形成的正反馈或负反馈回路：给细胞质膜头部一个较高的Rac激活率,Rac→PI3K？PI（3,4,5）P3将形成短程正反馈回路（亦即＂局部激励＂）,引起PI3K和PI（3,4,5）P3快速在细胞头部积聚;头部PI（3,4,5）P3增多,限制了PTEN与PI（4,5）P2结合,使得PI（3,4,5）P3？PTEN→PI（4,5）P2形成长程负反馈回路（亦即＂全局抑制＂）;引起PTEN和PI（4,5）P2慢慢在细胞尾部积聚.同时发现,PI3K和PTEN含量对细胞极化有明显的影响,并存在使细胞正确极化的最佳值.     

Water capture by a desert beetle.

Some beetles in the Namib Desert collect drinking water from fog-laden wind on their backs. We show here that these large droplets form by virtue of the insect's bumpy surface, which consists of alternating hydrophobic, wax-coated and hydrophilic, non-waxy regions. The design of this fog-collecting structure can be reproduced cheaply on a commercial scale and may find application in water-trapping tent and building coverings, for example, or in water condensers and engines.     

Visualization of the dynamic instability of individual microtubules by dark-field microscopy

It has previously been shown that two populations of microtubules coexist in a dynamically unstable manner in vitro: those in one population elongate while those in the other shorten and finally disappear. This conclusion was based on changes in the number and length distribution of microtubules after dilution of the microtubule solution. Here, we demonstrate directly that growing and shortening populations coexist in steady-state conditions, by visualization of the dynamic behaviour of individual microtubules in vitro by dark-field microscopy. Real-time video recording reveals that both ends of a microtubule exist in either the growing or the shortening phase and alternate quite frequently between the two phases in a stochastic manner. Moreover, growing and shortening ends can coexist on a single microtubule, one end continuing to grow simultaneously with shortening at the other end. We find no correlation in the phase conversion either among individual microtubules or between the two ends of a single microtubule. The two ends of any given microtubule have remarkably different characteristics; the active end grows faster, alternates in phase more frequently and fluctuates in length to a greater extent than the inactive end. Microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) suppress the phase conversion and stabilize microtubules in the growing phase.     

Mitotic spindle organization by a plus-end-directed microtubule motor.

Intracellular microtubule motor proteins may direct the motile properties and/or morphogenesis of the mitotic spindle (reviewed in ref. 3). The recent identification of kinesin-like proteins important for mitosis or meiosis indicates that kinesin-related proteins may play a universal role in eukaryotic cell division, but the precise function of such proteins in mitosis remains unknown. Here we use an in vitro assay for spindle assembly, derived from Xenopus egg extracts, to investigate the role of Eg5, a kinesin-like protein in Xenopus eggs. Eg5 is localized along spindle microtubules, and particularly enriched near spindle poles. Immunodepletion of Eg5 from egg extracts markedly reduces the extent of spindle formation in extracts, as does direct addition of anti-Eg5 antibodies. We also demonstrate that Eg5 is a plus-end-directed microtubule motor in vitro. Our results suggest a novel mechanism for the dynamic self-organization of spindle poles in mitosis.     

Stabilization of sea urchin flagellar microtubules by histone H1.

Complex microtubule assemblies are essential components of eukaryotic cilia and flagella. They are extremely stable and are not affected by agents that normally induce polymer disassembly. The molecular basis of this microtubular stability is unknown, and it is not related to any feature of the constitutive tubulin. In sea urchin sperm flagella, axonemal microtubules are found to be stabilized by a protein identical to histone H1, a result that defines a new role for this histone and provides evidence for a concerted evolution of chromatin and microtubular structures.     

Ubiquitination by the anaphase-promoting complex drives spindle checkpoint inactivation

Eukaryotic cells rely on a surveillance mechanism known as the spindle checkpoint to ensure accurate chromosome segregation. The spindle checkpoint prevents sister chromatids from separating until all kinetochores achieve bipolar attachments to the mitotic spindle. Checkpoint proteins tightly inhibit the anaphase-promoting complex (APC), a ubiquitin ligase required for chromosome segregation and progression to anaphase. Unattached kinetochores promote the binding of checkpoint proteins Mad2 and BubR1 to the APC-activator Cdc20, rendering it unable to activate APC. Once all kinetochores are properly attached, however, cells inactivate the checkpoint within minutes, allowing for the rapid and synchronous segregation of chromosomes. How cells switch from strong APC inhibition before kinetochore attachment to rapid APC activation once attachment is complete remains a mystery. Here we show that checkpoint inactivation is an energy-consuming process involving APC-dependent multi-ubiquitination. Multi-ubiquitination by APC leads to the dissociation of Mad2 and BubR1 from Cdc20, a process that is reversed by a Cdc20-directed de-ubiquitinating enzyme. The mutual regulation between checkpoint proteins and APC leaves the cell poised for rapid checkpoint inactivation and ensures that chromosome segregation promptly follows the completion of kinetochore attachment. In addition, our results suggest a mechanistic basis for how cancer cells can have a compromised spindle checkpoint without corresponding mutations in checkpoint genes.     

用分子对称性求取分子轨道

应用分子对称性求得分子轨道,是根据分子反映面对称性质,建立了三个规则。依据对称面性质,将高阶本征行列式约化为低阶本征行列式,因此容易计算。根据这三个规则,对于具有垂直对称面的链型、环型、稠环型和混合型共轭分子,我们都得到了满意的结果。     

Attachment of transported vesicles to microtubules in axoplasm is facilitated by AMP-PNP

Axoplasm extruded from the squid giant axon has been used to analyse the molecular mechanisms of intracellular vesicle transport. Using video-enhanced light microscopy, vesicle transport can be observed directly on individual microtubules at the edge of the axoplasm. Here we report that AMP-PNP (adenyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate), a non-hydrolysable analogue of ATP, reversibly inhibited vesicle transport. Moreover, vesicles in solution attach to the microtubules and form relatively stable complexes. AMP-PNP may produce this effect by binding to an ATP-binding site on the transport machinery, thereby stabilizing the motility complex that is normally formed by a transported vesicle, an ATPase and a microtubule. The effects of AMP-PNP on the vesicle transport system indicate that the enzymatic machinery of this system differs significantly from that of the actomyosin system or the dynein-microtubule system.     

Assembly of microtubules from nucleotide-depleted tubulin

In vitro assembly of microtubules from tubulin is considered to have an absolute requirement for added GTP (or a non-hydrolysable GTP-analogue) involving binding at the E(exchangeable)-site located on the beta-subunit of the tubulin dimer. By contrast, GDP inhibits assembly. Nucleotide hydrolysis has been implicated in the dynamic properties of microtubules, treadmilling and mechanical coupling. Here we demonstrate that assembly is not necessarily dependent on the presence of GTP at the E-site; microtubules can be formed efficiently in the absence of GTP in the presence of pyrophosphate. These microtubules, which have normal morphology and lability at cold temperatures, contain N(non-exchangeable)-site GTP and a significant proportion of E-site GDP. This demonstrates the possibility of direct incorporation of GDP-containing tubulin dimer during assembly which probably derives from microtubule-associated protein (MAP)-containing oligomers. This finding has important implications for the mechanism of microtubule elongation. The effects of pyrophosphate suggest that charge neutralization by the bidentate ligand is an essential step in promoting microtubule assembly, and that this interaction involves only a minimal conformational change in the protein.     

Dynamin is a GTPase stimulated to high levels of activity by microtubules.

Dynamin was initially identified in calf brain tissue as a protein of relative molecular mass 100,000 which induced nucleotide-sensitive bundling of microtubules. Purified dynamin showed only trace ATPase activity. But in combination with an activating factor removed during the purification, it exhibited microtubule-activated ATPase activity and dynamin-induced bundles showed evidence of ATP-dependent force production. Dynamin is the product of the Drosophila gene shibire, which has been implicated in synaptic vesicle recycling and, more generally, in the budding of endocytic vesicles from the plasma membrane. Dynamin also shows extensive homology with proteins that participate in vacuolar protein sorting and spindle pole-body separation in yeast, and in interferon-induced viral resistance in mammals. All members of this family contain consensus sequence elements consistent with GTP binding near their amino termini, although none has been shown to have GTPase activity. We report here that dynamin is a specific GTPase which can be stimulated to very high levels of activity by microtubules.