Sharyn Endow, Ph.D. (Yale University)
Professor of Cell Biology
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Cell Biology
CMB Program, SBB Program, Genetics Program
Email: sharyn.endow@duke.edu
246 Sands Building, Box 3709
Duke University Medical Center
Durham, NC 27710
Telephone 919-684-4311
Undergraduate Studies (Office hours: 12:30-2pm MWF and 5-6pm MTW)
Research in my laboratory is on motor proteins and the mechanisms by which they function in the spindle to ensure normal chromosome distribution during cell division. Molecular motors are force-generating proteins that drive movements of the spindle and chromosomes in dividing cells. We are currently trying to understand the mechanism of motor function – how motors use ATP to produce force and movement in cells – and the contributions by motors to spindle and chromosome dynamics during division.
We are using an approach that combines molecular genetics with structural biology and biophysical methods to determine the basis of motor function. We focus on the kinesin spindle motor, Ncd, discovered in my laboratory, and its striking ‘backward’ or minus-end directed motility. Ncd is unusual in that it moves on microtubules in the opposite direction as kinesin-1, the founding member of the kinesin family.
By constructing chimeric Ncd-kinesin motor proteins, we identified residues required for the reversed movement of Ncd. We then mutated single amino acid residues and converted Ncd into a bidirectional motor that moves either towards the microtubule plus or minus end. Single-molecule laser-trap assays showed that the minus-end directionality of Ncd is due to a large conformational change that occurs when the motor binds to a microtubule.
We are using mutants to trap the motor in different structural states to visualize the conformational changes that occur in the motor as it hydrolyzes ATP and moves on microtubules. We reported a new crystal structure of Ncd that show a large rotation of the coiled-coil stalk – this was interpreted to represent a lever-like movement that amplifies smaller movements within the motor domain. Together with other changes in the motor domain, the stalk rotation is likely to explain the motor mechanism of function.
We are also studying the effects of Ncd on spindle and chromosome dynamics in live cells by transformation into Drosophila fused to GFP, the green fluorescent protein. High-resolution imaging and dynamic studies, including FRAP (fluorescence recovery after photobleaching), give rate constants for motor binding to the spindle and diffusion coefficients in live cells.
Recent Publications:
Park, H.W., Ma, Z., Zhu, H., Jiang, S., Robinson, R.C. & Endow, S.A. 2017 Structural basis of small molecule ATPase inhibition of a human mitotic kinesin motor protein. Scientific Reports 7, 15121
Chen K, Koe CT, Xing ZB, Tian X, Rossi F, Wang C, Tang Q, Zong W, Hong WJ, Taneja R, Yu F, Gonzalez C, Wu C, Endow S, Wang H. (2016). Arl2- and Msps-dependent microtubule growth governs asymmetric division. J Cell Biol. 14;212(6):661-76.
Do KK, Hoàng KL, Endow SA. (2014). The kinesin-13 KLP10A motor regulates oocyte spindle length and affects EB1 binding without altering microtubule growth rates. Biol Open. 6;3(7):561-70.
Endow SA, Nizami ZF, Gerbi SA. (2013). A remarkable career in science-Joseph G. Gall. Chromosome Res. 21(4):339-43.
Kull FG & Endow SA. (2013). Force generation by kinesin and myosin cytoskeletal motor proteins. J. Cell Sci. 126, 9-19. Download PDF. Also available at the JCS web site.
Liu HL, Hallen MA, & Endow SA (2012). Altered nucleotide-microtuble coupling and increased mechanical output by a kinesin mutant. PLoS One. 7(10):e47148.
Liu HL, Pemble CW 4th, & Endow SA (2012). Neck-motor interactions trigger rotation of the kinesin stalk. Sci Rep. 2:236
Hallen MA, Liang ZY & Endow SA. (2011). Two-state displacement by the kinesin-14 Ncd stalk. Biophys. Chem. 154, 56-65.
Endow SA, Hallen MA. (2011). Anastral spindle assembly and γ-tubulin in Drosophila oocytes. BMC Cell Biol. 5;12:1. doi: 10.1186/1471-2121-12-1.
Endow SA, Kull FJ, Liu H. (2010). Kinesins at a glance. J Cell Sci. 15;123(Pt 20):3420-4.
Heuston E, Bronner CE, Kull FJ, Endow SA. (2010). A kinesin motor in a force-producing conformation. BMC Struct Biol. 5;10:19.