Skip to main content
PMC home page
Molecular Biology of the Cell logoLink to Molecular Biology of the Cell
. 1994 Jun;5(6):645–654. doi: 10.1091/mbc.5.6.645

Characterization of DLC-A and DLC-B, two families of cytoplasmic dynein light chain subunits.

S R Gill 1, D W Cleveland 1, T A Schroer 1
PMCID: PMC301080  PMID: 7949421

Abstract

Cytoplasmic dynein is a minus-end-directed, microtubule-dependent motor composed of two heavy chains (approximately 530 kDa), three intermediate chains (approximately 74 kDa), and a family of approximately 52-61 kDa light chains. Although the approximately 530 kDa subunit contains the motor and microtubule binding domains of the complex, the functions of the smaller subunits are not known. Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and proteolytic mapping, we show here that the light chains are composed of two major families, a higher M(r) family (58, 59, 61 kDa; dynein light chain group A [DLC-A]) and lower M(r) family (52, 53, 55, 56 kDa; dynein light chain group B [DLC-B]). Dissociation of the cytoplasmic dynein complex with potassium iodide reveals that all light chain polypeptides are tightly associated with the approximately 530 kDa heavy chain, whereas the approximately 74 kDa intermediate chain polypeptides are more readily extracted. Treatment with alkaline phosphatase alters the mobility of four of the light chain polypeptides, indicating that these subunits are phosphorylated. Sequencing of a cDNA clone encoding one member of the DLC-A family reveals a predicted globular structure that is not homologous to any known protein but does contain numerous potential phosphorylation sites and a consensus nucleotide-binding motif.

Full text

PDF
645

Images in this article

648Image
on p.648
648Image
on p.648
649Image
on p.649
649Image
on p.649

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aniento F., Emans N., Griffiths G., Gruenberg J. Cytoplasmic dynein-dependent vesicular transport from early to late endosomes. J Cell Biol. 1993 Dec;123(6 Pt 1):1373–1387. doi: 10.1083/jcb.123.6.1373. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bradford M. M. A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal Biochem. 1976 May 7;72:248–254. doi: 10.1006/abio.1976.9999. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chou P. Y., Fasman G. D. Prediction of protein conformation. Biochemistry. 1974 Jan 15;13(2):222–245. doi: 10.1021/bi00699a002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cleveland D. W. Peptide mapping in one dimension by limited proteolysis of sodium dodecyl sulfate-solubilized proteins. Methods Enzymol. 1983;96:222–229. doi: 10.1016/s0076-6879(83)96020-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Collins C. A., Vallee R. B. Preparation of microtubules from rat liver and testis: cytoplasmic dynein is a major microtubule associated protein. Cell Motil Cytoskeleton. 1989;14(4):491–500. doi: 10.1002/cm.970140407. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Corthésy-Theulaz I., Pauloin A., Pfeffer S. R. Cytoplasmic dynein participates in the centrosomal localization of the Golgi complex. J Cell Biol. 1992 Sep;118(6):1333–1345. doi: 10.1083/jcb.118.6.1333. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Eshel D., Urrestarazu L. A., Vissers S., Jauniaux J. C., van Vliet-Reedijk J. C., Planta R. J., Gibbons I. R. Cytoplasmic dynein is required for normal nuclear segregation in yeast. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Dec 1;90(23):11172–11176. doi: 10.1073/pnas.90.23.11172. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Frohman M. A., Dush M. K., Martin G. R. Rapid production of full-length cDNAs from rare transcripts: amplification using a single gene-specific oligonucleotide primer. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Dec;85(23):8998–9002. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.23.8998. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Garnier J., Osguthorpe D. J., Robson B. Analysis of the accuracy and implications of simple methods for predicting the secondary structure of globular proteins. J Mol Biol. 1978 Mar 25;120(1):97–120. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(78)90297-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Gibbons B. H., Asai D. J., Tang W. J., Hays T. S., Gibbons I. R. Phylogeny and expression of axonemal and cytoplasmic dynein genes in sea urchins. Mol Biol Cell. 1994 Jan;5(1):57–70. doi: 10.1091/mbc.5.1.57. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Gill S. R., Schroer T. A., Szilak I., Steuer E. R., Sheetz M. P., Cleveland D. W. Dynactin, a conserved, ubiquitously expressed component of an activator of vesicle motility mediated by cytoplasmic dynein. J Cell Biol. 1991 Dec;115(6):1639–1650. doi: 10.1083/jcb.115.6.1639. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Goodenough U., Heuser J. Structural comparison of purified dynein proteins with in situ dynein arms. J Mol Biol. 1984 Dec 25;180(4):1083–1118. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(84)90272-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Gorbsky G. J., Ricketts W. A. Differential expression of a phosphoepitope at the kinetochores of moving chromosomes. J Cell Biol. 1993 Sep;122(6):1311–1321. doi: 10.1083/jcb.122.6.1311. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Hamasaki T., Barkalow K., Richmond J., Satir P. cAMP-stimulated phosphorylation of an axonemal polypeptide that copurifies with the 22S dynein arm regulates microtubule translocation velocity and swimming speed in Paramecium. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Sep 15;88(18):7918–7922. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.18.7918. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Hirokawa N., Sato-Yoshitake R., Yoshida T., Kawashima T. Brain dynein (MAP1C) localizes on both anterogradely and retrogradely transported membranous organelles in vivo. J Cell Biol. 1990 Sep;111(3):1027–1037. doi: 10.1083/jcb.111.3.1027. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Hyman A. A., Mitchison T. J. Two different microtubule-based motor activities with opposite polarities in kinetochores. Nature. 1991 May 16;351(6323):206–211. doi: 10.1038/351206a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. King S. M., Witman G. B. Localization of an intermediate chain of outer arm dynein by immunoelectron microscopy. J Biol Chem. 1990 Nov 15;265(32):19807–19811. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Koonce M. P., Grissom P. M., McIntosh J. R. Dynein from Dictyostelium: primary structure comparisons between a cytoplasmic motor enzyme and flagellar dynein. J Cell Biol. 1992 Dec;119(6):1597–1604. doi: 10.1083/jcb.119.6.1597. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Kozak M. An analysis of 5'-noncoding sequences from 699 vertebrate messenger RNAs. Nucleic Acids Res. 1987 Oct 26;15(20):8125–8148. doi: 10.1093/nar/15.20.8125. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Lacey M. L., Haimo L. T. Cytoplasmic dynein is a vesicle protein. J Biol Chem. 1992 Mar 5;267(7):4793–4798. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Laemmli U. K. Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature. 1970 Aug 15;227(5259):680–685. doi: 10.1038/227680a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Li Y. Y., Yeh E., Hays T., Bloom K. Disruption of mitotic spindle orientation in a yeast dynein mutant. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Nov 1;90(21):10096–10100. doi: 10.1073/pnas.90.21.10096. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Lin S. X., Collins C. A. Immunolocalization of cytoplasmic dynein to lysosomes in cultured cells. J Cell Sci. 1992 Jan;101(Pt 1):125–137. doi: 10.1242/jcs.101.1.125. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Lopata M. A., Havercroft J. C., Chow L. T., Cleveland D. W. Four unique genes required for beta tubulin expression in vertebrates. Cell. 1983 Mar;32(3):713–724. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90057-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Lupas A., Van Dyke M., Stock J. Predicting coiled coils from protein sequences. Science. 1991 May 24;252(5009):1162–1164. doi: 10.1126/science.252.5009.1162. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Lye R. J., Porter M. E., Scholey J. M., McIntosh J. R. Identification of a microtubule-based cytoplasmic motor in the nematode C. elegans. Cell. 1987 Oct 23;51(2):309–318. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90157-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. McIntosh J. R., Porter M. E. Enzymes for microtubule-dependent motility. J Biol Chem. 1989 Apr 15;264(11):6001–6004. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Merril C. R., Goldman D., Sedman S. A., Ebert M. H. Ultrasensitive stain for proteins in polyacrylamide gels shows regional variation in cerebrospinal fluid proteins. Science. 1981 Mar 27;211(4489):1437–1438. doi: 10.1126/science.6162199. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Mikami A., Paschal B. M., Mazumdar M., Vallee R. B. Molecular cloning of the retrograde transport motor cytoplasmic dynein (MAP 1C). Neuron. 1993 May;10(5):787–796. doi: 10.1016/0896-6273(93)90195-w. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Mitchell D. R., Kang Y. Identification of oda6 as a Chlamydomonas dynein mutant by rescue with the wild-type gene. J Cell Biol. 1991 May;113(4):835–842. doi: 10.1083/jcb.113.4.835. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Mitchell D. R., Rosenbaum J. L. Protein-protein interactions in the 18S ATPase of Chlamydomonas outer dynein arms. Cell Motil Cytoskeleton. 1986;6(5):510–520. doi: 10.1002/cm.970060510. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Neal M. W., Florini J. R. A rapid method for desalting small volumes of solution. Anal Biochem. 1973 Sep;55(1):328–330. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(73)90325-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Neely M. D., Boekelheide K. Sertoli cell processes have axoplasmic features: an ordered microtubule distribution and an abundant high molecular weight microtubule-associated protein (cytoplasmic dynein). J Cell Biol. 1988 Nov;107(5):1767–1776. doi: 10.1083/jcb.107.5.1767. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Paschal B. M., Mikami A., Pfister K. K., Vallee R. B. Homology of the 74-kD cytoplasmic dynein subunit with a flagellar dynein polypeptide suggests an intracellular targeting function. J Cell Biol. 1992 Sep;118(5):1133–1143. doi: 10.1083/jcb.118.5.1133. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Paschal B. M., Vallee R. B. Retrograde transport by the microtubule-associated protein MAP 1C. Nature. 1987 Nov 12;330(6144):181–183. doi: 10.1038/330181a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Pfarr C. M., Coue M., Grissom P. M., Hays T. S., Porter M. E., McIntosh J. R. Cytoplasmic dynein is localized to kinetochores during mitosis. Nature. 1990 May 17;345(6272):263–265. doi: 10.1038/345263a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Pfister K. K., Fay R. B., Witman G. B. Purification and polypeptide composition of dynein ATPases from Chlamydomonas flagella. Cell Motil. 1982;2(6):525–547. doi: 10.1002/cm.970020604. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Pfister K. K., Witman G. B. Subfractionation of Chlamydomonas 18 S dynein into two unique subunits containing ATPase activity. J Biol Chem. 1984 Oct 10;259(19):12072–12080. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Rasmusson K., Serr M., Gepner J., Gibbons I., Hays T. S. A family of dynein genes in Drosophila melanogaster. Mol Biol Cell. 1994 Jan;5(1):45–55. doi: 10.1091/mbc.5.1.45. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Sale W. S., Fox L. A. Isolated beta-heavy chain subunit of dynein translocates microtubules in vitro. J Cell Biol. 1988 Nov;107(5):1793–1797. doi: 10.1083/jcb.107.5.1793. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Saraste M., Sibbald P. R., Wittinghofer A. The P-loop--a common motif in ATP- and GTP-binding proteins. Trends Biochem Sci. 1990 Nov;15(11):430–434. doi: 10.1016/0968-0004(90)90281-f. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Schnapp B. J., Reese T. S. Dynein is the motor for retrograde axonal transport of organelles. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Mar;86(5):1548–1552. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.5.1548. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Schroer T. A., Sheetz M. P. Two activators of microtubule-based vesicle transport. J Cell Biol. 1991 Dec;115(5):1309–1318. doi: 10.1083/jcb.115.5.1309. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Schroer T. A., Steuer E. R., Sheetz M. P. Cytoplasmic dynein is a minus end-directed motor for membranous organelles. Cell. 1989 Mar 24;56(6):937–946. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90627-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Smith P. K., Krohn R. I., Hermanson G. T., Mallia A. K., Gartner F. H., Provenzano M. D., Fujimoto E. K., Goeke N. M., Olson B. J., Klenk D. C. Measurement of protein using bicinchoninic acid. Anal Biochem. 1985 Oct;150(1):76–85. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(85)90442-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Steuer E. R., Wordeman L., Schroer T. A., Sheetz M. P. Localization of cytoplasmic dynein to mitotic spindles and kinetochores. Nature. 1990 May 17;345(6272):266–268. doi: 10.1038/345266a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Vaisberg E. A., Koonce M. P., McIntosh J. R. Cytoplasmic dynein plays a role in mammalian mitotic spindle formation. J Cell Biol. 1993 Nov;123(4):849–858. doi: 10.1083/jcb.123.4.849. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Vallee R. B., Shpetner H. S. Motor proteins of cytoplasmic microtubules. Annu Rev Biochem. 1990;59:909–932. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.59.070190.004401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Vallee R. B., Shpetner H. S., Paschal B. M. The role of dynein in retrograde axonal transport. Trends Neurosci. 1989 Feb;12(2):66–70. doi: 10.1016/0166-2236(89)90138-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Vallee R. B., Wall J. S., Paschal B. M., Shpetner H. S. Microtubule-associated protein 1C from brain is a two-headed cytosolic dynein. Nature. 1988 Apr 7;332(6164):561–563. doi: 10.1038/332561a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Walker J. E., Saraste M., Runswick M. J., Gay N. J. Distantly related sequences in the alpha- and beta-subunits of ATP synthase, myosin, kinases and other ATP-requiring enzymes and a common nucleotide binding fold. EMBO J. 1982;1(8):945–951. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1982.tb01276.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Zhang Z., Tanaka Y., Nonaka S., Aizawa H., Kawasaki H., Nakata T., Hirokawa N. The primary structure of rat brain (cytoplasmic) dynein heavy chain, a cytoplasmic motor enzyme. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Sep 1;90(17):7928–7932. doi: 10.1073/pnas.90.17.7928. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Molecular Biology of the Cell are provided here courtesy of American Society for Cell Biology

RESOURCES