A protein factor from Bufo marinus erythrocytes cross-bridges microtubules in vitro

A microtubule cross-bridging factor was isolated from erythrocytes of the toad, Bufo marinus. Erythrocytes were lysed and their cytoskeletons disassembled by sonication and high salt extraction. The solubilized proteins were recovered and fractionated using Sephadex G-200 column chromatography. The protein fractions from the column were analysed by SDS-PAGE and pooled into three groups: high molecular weight (HMW) proteins that eluted from the column in the void volume and had a protein composition that included HMW polypeptides; intermediate MW proteins that were shown by SDS-PAGE to contain polypeptides smaller than 120,000 D; and low MW (LMW) proteins that contained polypeptides smaller than 70,000 D. Each group was further fractionated by phosphocellulose (PC) chromatography. The flow-through was recovered, and bound proteins were then eluted by a step gradient of salt (0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 M KCl). To assay for microtubule cross-bridging activity, column fractions were incubated with taxol-stabilized microtubules, formed from PC-purified brain tubulin (PC microtubules). Negatively stained samples were examined in the electron microscope for the reconstitution of microtubule bundles with interconnecting cross-bridges. The HMW protein fraction from the G-200 column contained the cross-bridging factor. When these proteins were further fractionated by PC chromatography only the fraction eluted by 0.2 M KCl induced the formation of microtubule bundles with cross-bridges. No other protein fraction isolated by the described method revealed cross-bridges between microtubules in vitro.