# Single-molecule approaches to probe the regulation of kinesin and dynein-driven cargo transport by an adapter protein

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT & ST AGRIC COLLEGE · 2020 · $156,000

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 Plus end-directed kinesin and minus end-directed dynein move on microtubules in a stepwise
manner using the energy from ATP hydrolysis and play crucial roles in axonal transport in neurons. They
deliver a variety of cellular cargo such as vesicles, organelles, mRNA, and proteins along the microtubule
tracks in the axons of neurons. Microtubule-based axonal transport is crucial, as the disruption of such
intracellular transport causes neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's
disease, spastic paraplegia, and Huntington's disease. Both kinesin and dynein motors exist in an auto-
inhibited conformation in the absence of cargo. Kinesin is auto-inhibited via a head-tail interaction that
leads to extremely low microtubule binding frequency and slow and discontinuous motion on microtubules
compared with a constitutively active kinesin. Dynein also exists in an auto-inhibited conformation in
which the motor domains are closely stacked together and unable to move processively on microtubules.
These molecular motors are attached to cargo via adapter proteins that specify a particular cargo. We
recently showed that the adapter protein BicD binds dynein-dynactin and activates dynein for long
distance transport only in the presence of both the mRNA binding protein Egalitarian and mRNA cargo.
In Aim 1, we will similarly reconstitute a kinesin-BicD complex and investigate the mechanism by which
BicD activates kinesin and regulates motor-driven cargo transport on microtubules. Using single-
molecule approaches and TIRF microscopy, we will determine the domain on BicD that kinesin binds to,
and the number of kinesins that can bind to BicD, which has a profound impact on its ability to perform
long-distance transport. In cells, kinesin and dynein are both coupled via a common adapter protein and
transport cargo through bidirectional motion on microtubules, by a mechanism that is not fully understood.
In Aim 2, we will reconstitute kinesin-dynein complexes bound to a common BicD, label motors with
different color Qdots, observe the motion, and monitor the stepping dynamics of each motor within the
complex. We will investigate whether these two opposite polarity motors are engaged in a tug-of-war or
if they coordinate during cargo transport, and whether motor number controls the directionality. These
studies will provide a mechanistic framework for understanding axonal transport.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9869505
- **Project number:** 1R03NS114115-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT & ST AGRIC COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** M Yusuf Ali
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $156,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-02-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9869505

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9869505, Single-molecule approaches to probe the regulation of kinesin and dynein-driven cargo transport by an adapter protein (1R03NS114115-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9869505. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*