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. 2005 Aug 19;95(10):815–821. doi: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.2004.tb02187.x

Identification of a mouse cytoskeleton‐associated protein, CKAP2, with microtubule‐stabilizing properties

Yi Jin 1, Yoshiki Murakumo 1,✉, Kaoru Ueno 1, Mizuo Hashimoto 1, Tsuyoshi Watanabe 1, Yoshie Shimoyama 1, Masatoshi Ichihara 1, Masahide Takahashi 1,2
PMCID: PMC11159279  PMID: 15504249

Abstract

Microtubule dynamics is an important factor in cell proliferation and one of the main targets of cancer chemotherapy. Since microtubule‐associated proteins (MAPs) are known to influence microtubule stability, study of MAPs may contribute both to knowledge of cancer cell biology and to the production of new anti‐cancer drugs. In this study, we identified a new mouse gene which is a homolog of human cytoskeleton‐associated protein, CKAP2 gene, by differential display analysis. The level of expression of mouse CKAP2 (mCKAP2) was significantly higher in NIH3T3 cells expressing RET with a multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) 2A or MEN2B mutation than in parental NIH3T3 cells. Immunocytochemical analysis showed that mCKAP2 protein is localized in cytoplasm with a fibrillar appearance, and is co‐localized with microtubules throughout the cell cycle. Furthermore, overexpression of mCKAP2 in cells appeared to stabilize microtubules against treatment with nocodazole, a microtubule‐depolymerizing agent. In addition, levels of human CKAP2 were increased in some human tumor cell lines examined. These findings suggest that CKAP2 is a new MAP with microtubule‐stabilizing properties and may represent a new molecular target for cancer chemotherapy.

Abbreviations:

CKAP2

cytoskeleton‐associated protein 2

MAP

microtubule‐associated protein

MEN

multiple endocrine neoplasia

GDNF

glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor

DD‐PCR

differential display‐polymerase chain reaction

RT

reverse transcriptase

GFP

green fluorescent protein

RACE

rapid amplification of cDNA ends

FITC

fluorescein isothiocyanate

The nucleotide sequence for the mouse CKAP2 gene has been deposited in the GenBank database under GenBank Accession Number AY692438.

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