Vps4 disassembles an ESCRT-III filament by global unfolding and processive translocation
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 13, 2026

Online Size-exclusion and Ion-exchange Chromatography on a SAXS Beamline
Published on: January 5, 2017
Bei Yang1, Goran Stjepanovic1, Qingtao Shen1
1Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.
Abstract:
The AAA+ ATPase Vps4 disassembles ESCRT-III and is essential for HIV-1 budding and other pathways. Vps4 is a paradigmatic member of a class of hexameric AAA+ ATPases that disassemble protein complexes without degradation. To distinguish between local displacement versus global unfolding mechanisms for complex disassembly, we carried out hydrogen/deuterium exchange during Saccharomyces cerevisiae Vps4 disassembly of a chimeric Vps24-2 ESCRT-III filament. EX1 exchange behavior shows that Vps4 completely unfolds ESCRT-III substrates on a time scale consistent with the disassembly reaction. The established unfoldase ClpX showed the same pattern, thus demonstrating a common unfolding mechanism. Vps4 hexamers containing a single cysteine residue in the pore loops were cross-linked to ESCRT-III subunits containing unique cysteines within the folded core domain. These data support a mechanism in which Vps4 disassembles its substrates by completely unfolding them and threading them through the central pore.
Related Concept Videos
Disassembly of Intermediate Filaments
Keratin proteins, found at the cell periphery near cell junctions, undergo a cycle of assembly and disassembly. In Type...
Actin Filament Depolymerization
In F-actin, the ADF/cofilin proteins...
Mechanism of Filopodia Formation
Their main function is to guide migrating cells during normal tissue morphogenesis or cancer metastasis by recognizing and making initial contacts with the extracellular matrix. However, they can also act as stationary cell anchors or help to establish communication...
Generation of Straight or Branched Actin Filaments
Arp2/3 Complex
Arp2/3 complex is a seven-subunit complex consisting of two proteins similar to actin- Arp2 and Arp3, and five other subunits that help keep Arp2 and Arp3 inactive. When required, the complex is...
Intralumenal Vesicles and Multivesicular Bodies
Formation of Intermediate Filaments

