Nat. Commun. 2020
Schematic illustration of the TRAK1-mediated anchoring of KIF5B. a Top: in absence of TRAK1, KIF5B (green) can either continue its walk by rebinding the disengaged motor domain to the microtubule or dissociate from the microtubule when the engaged motor domain unbinds from the microtubule. Bottom: in presence of microtubule-bound TRAK1 (magenta), when both motor domains of KIF5B disengage from the microtubule, KIF5B remains tethered to the microtubule through a diffusive interaction of TRAK1 with the microtubule and thereby enables the rebinding of a motor domain of KIF5B to the microtubule. In this state, TRAK1 might facilitate navigation around obstacles by diffusion along the microtubule surface. b Overview of the functions of TRAK1. Top: TRAK1 activates auto-inhibited KIF5B, enabling its processive movement along microtubules. Middle: TRAK1 increases the processivity of KIF5B in crowded environments. Bottom: TRAK1 enables KIF5B-based transport of isolated mitochondria along microtubules in vitro.
Significance
Intracellular trafficking of organelles, driven by kinesin-1 stepping along microtubules, underpins essential cellular processes. In absence of other proteins on the microtubule surface, kinesin-1 performs micron-long runs. Under crowding conditions, however, kinesin-1 motility is drastically impeded. It is thus unclear how kinesin-1 acts as an efficient transporter in intracellular environments. Here, we demonstrate that TRAK1 (Milton), an adaptor protein essential for mitochondrial trafficking, activates kinesin-1 and increases robustness of kinesin- 1 stepping on crowded microtubule surfaces. Interaction with TRAK1 i) facilitates kinesin-1 navigation around obstacles, ii) increases the probability of kinesin-1 passing through cohesive islands of tau and iii) increases the run length of kinesin-1 in cell lysate. We explain the enhanced motility by the observed direct interaction of TRAK1 with microtubules, pro- viding an additional anchor for the kinesin-1-TRAK1 complex. Furthermore, TRAK1 enables mitochondrial transport in vitro. We propose adaptor-mediated tethering as a mechanism regulating kinesin-1 motility in various cellular environments.
Henrichs, V.; Grycova, L.; Bařinka, C.; Nahačka, Z.; Neužil, J.; Diez, S.; Rohlena, J.; Braun, M. & Lánský, Z.: Mitochondria-adaptor TRAK1 promotes kinesin-1 driven transport in crowded environments, Nat. Commun. (2020) 11, 3123, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16972-5