A novel assay reveals preferential binding between Rabs, kinesins, and specific endosomal subpopulations

Identifying the proteins that regulate vesicle trafficking is a fundamental problem in cell biology. In this paper, we introduce a new assay that involves the expression of an FKBP12-rapamycin-binding domain-tagged candidate vesicle-binding protein, which can be inducibly linked to dynein or kinesin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of cell biology 2015-02, Vol.208 (3), p.273-281
Main Authors: Bentley, Marvin, Decker, Helena, Luisi, Julie, Banker, Gary
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Binding sites
Biological Assay
Cells, Cultured
Cellular biology
Endosomes - metabolism
Humans
Kinesin - metabolism
Protein Binding
Protein Structure, Tertiary
Protein Transport
Proteins
rab GTP-Binding Proteins - metabolism
Rats
Transport Vesicles - metabolism
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Summary:Identifying the proteins that regulate vesicle trafficking is a fundamental problem in cell biology. In this paper, we introduce a new assay that involves the expression of an FKBP12-rapamycin-binding domain-tagged candidate vesicle-binding protein, which can be inducibly linked to dynein or kinesin. Vesicles can be labeled by any convenient method. If the candidate protein binds the labeled vesicles, addition of the linker drug results in a predictable, highly distinctive change in vesicle localization. This assay generates robust and easily interpretable results that provide direct experimental evidence of binding between a candidate protein and the vesicle population of interest. We used this approach to compare the binding of Kinesin-3 family members with different endosomal populations. We found that KIF13A and KIF13B bind preferentially to early endosomes and that KIF1A and KIF1Bβ bind preferentially to late endosomes and lysosomes. This assay may have broad utility for identifying the trafficking proteins that bind to different vesicle populations.
ISSN:0021-9525
1540-8140
DOI:10.1083/jcb.201408056