HETEROGENEITY AND MICROTUBULE INTERACTION OF THE CHO1 ANTIGEN, A MITOSIS-SPECIFIC KINESIN-LIKE PROTEIN - ANALYSIS OF SUBDOMAINS EXPRESSED IN INSECT SF9 CELLS

The CHO1 antigen is a mitosis-specific kinesin-like motor located at t he interzonal region of the spindle. The human cDNA coding for the ant igen contains a domain with sequence similarity to the motor domain of kinesin-like protein (Nislow et al., Nature 359, 543, 1992). Here we cloned cDNAs encoding the CHO1 antigen by immunoscreening of a CHO Uni -Zap expression library, the same species in which the original monocl onal antibody was raised, cDNAs of CHO cells encode a 953 amino acid p olypeptide with a calculated molecular mass of 109 kDa. The N-terminal 73% of the antigen was 87% identical to the human clone, whereas the remaining 27% of the coding region showed only 48% homology. Insect Sf 9 cells infected with baculovirus containing the full-length insert pr oduced 105 and 95 kDa polypeptides, the same doublet identified as the original antigen in CHO cells. Truncated polypeptides corresponding t o the N-terminal motor and C-terminal tail produced a 56 and 54 kDa po lypeptide in Sf9 cells, respectively. Full and N-terminal proteins co- sedimented with, and caused bundling of, brain microtubules in vitro, whereas the C-terminal polypeptide did not. Cells expressing the N ter minus formed one or more cytoplasmic processes. Immunofluorescence as well as electron microscopic observations revealed the presence of thi ck bundles of microtubules, which were closely packed, forming a margi nal ring just beneath the cell membrane and a core in the processes. T he diffusion coefficient and sedimentation coefficient were determined for the native CHO1 antigen by gel filtration and sucrose density gra dient centrifugation, respectively. The native molecular mass of overi nduced protein in Sf9 cells was calculated as 219 kDa, suggesting that the antigen exists as a dimer. Intrinsic CHO1 antigen in cultured mam malian cells forms a larger native complex (native molecular mass, 362 kDa), which may suggest the presence of additional molecule(s) associ ating with the CHO1 motor molecule.