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Updated: Jul 19, 2025

Cargo Loading onto Kinesin Powered Molecular Shuttles
Published on: November 3, 2010
The two-step cargo recognition mechanism of heterotrimeric kinesin
Xuguang Jiang1,2, Tadayuki Ogawa1,3,4, Kento Yonezawa5,6
1Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract:
Kinesin-driven intracellular transport is essential for various cell biological events and thus plays a crucial role in many pathological processes. However, little is known about the molecular basis of the specific and dynamic cargo-binding mechanism of kinesins. Here, an integrated structural analysis of the KIF3/KAP3 and KIF3/KAP3-APC complexes unveils the mechanism by which KIF3/KAP3 can dynamically grasp APC in a two-step manner, which suggests kinesin-cargo recognition dynamics composed of cargo loading, locking, and release. Our finding is the first demonstration of the two-step cargo recognition and stabilization mechanism of kinesins, which provides novel insights into the intracellular trafficking machinery.
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