計画班D01北海道大学コビルアリフ助教らの研究がScience Advances誌に掲載されました
本研究では、細胞骨格である微小管がメカノセンサーであり、微小管の機械的変形が細胞内の輸送を制御することを確認する直接的な証拠を提供する。無細胞系で微小管の実験を行った結果、微小管を曲げると、微小管に沿ったキネシンモータータンパク質の動きが遅くなることを報告した。微小管の機械的な変形によってキネシンの動きが鈍くなるのは、変形した微小管構造単位とキネシンの相互作用エネルギーが増大するためであると考えられる。本研究の成果は、メカノバイオロジーやバイオメカニクスなどの関連研究分野に大きな影響を与えると考えられる。
Microtubule is the most rigid component of cytoskeleton that plays pivotal roles in a number of cellular activities such as cell division, intracellular transportation. It has been long suspected that microtubules may work as mechano-sensor and play crucial role in mechano-transduction and mechano-regulation of cellular functions, but any concrete evidence has been lacking. In this work, we provide direct evidence which confirm that microtubules are mechano-sensor and mechanical deformation of microtubules can regulate intracellular transportation. By performing experiments with microtubules in a cell free system, we report that bending of microtubules can slow down movement of kinesin motor protein along the microtubules. The inhibition of kinesin motility along the bent microtubules occurs even in the absence of defects in the microtubule structure. Such slowing down of kinesin movement due to mechanical deformation of microtubules is ascribed to an enhanced interaction energy of kinesin and deformed microtubule structural units. The outcomes of this study will have significant impact on mechanobiology, biomechanics and related research fields.