PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Gil Kanfer
AU  - Martin Peterka
AU  - Vladimir K. Arzhanik
AU  - Alexei L. Drobyshev
AU  - Fazly I. Ataullakhanov
AU  - Vladimir A. Volkov
AU  - Benoît Kornmann
TI  - CENP-F couples cargo to growing and shortening microtubule ends
AID  - 10.1101/083618
DP  - 2016 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 083618
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/10/26/083618.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/10/26/083618.full
AB  - Dynamic microtubule ends exert pulling and pushing forces on intracellular membranes and organelles. However, the mechanical linkage of microtubule tips to their cargoes is poorly understood. CENP-F is a non-motor microtubule-binding protein that participates in microtubule binding at kinetochores and in the mitotic redistribution of the mitochondrial network. CENP-F-driven mitochondrial transport is linked to growing microtubule tips, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. Here we show that CENP-F tracks growing microtubule ends in living cells. In vitro reconstitution demonstrates that microtubule tips can transport mitochondria and CENP-F-coated artificial cargoes over micrometer-long distances, during both growing and shrinking phases. Based on these and previous observations, we suggest that CENP-F might act as a transporter of mitochondria and other cellular cargoes by attaching them to dynamic microtubule ends.