Force generation by cytoskeletal filament end-tracking proteins

Force generation in several types of cell motility is driven by rapidly elongating cytoskeletal. laments that are persistently tethered at their polymerizing ends to propelled objects. These properties are not easily explained by force-generation models that require free (i.e., untethered). lament ends to fluctuate away from the surface for addition of new monomers. In contrast,. lament end-tracking proteins that processively advance on. lament ends can facilitate rapid elongation and substantial force generation by persistently tethered. laments. Such processive end-tracking proteins, termed here. lament end-tracking motors, maintain possession of. lament ends and, like other biomolecular motors, advance by means of 5'-nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) hydrolysis-driven affinity-modulated interactions. On-filament NTP hydrolysis/phosphate release yields substantially more energy than that required for driving steady-state assembly/disassembly of free. lament ends (i.e., filament treadmilling), as revealed by an energy inventory on the treadmilling cycle. The kinetic and thermodynamic properties of two simple end-tracking mechanisms ( an end-tracking stepping motor and a direct-transfer end-tracking motor) are analyzed to illustrate the advantages of an end-tracking motor over free filament-end elongation, and over passive end-trackers that operate without the benefit of NTP hydrolysis, in terms of generating force, facilitating rapid monomer addition, and maintaining tight possession of the. lament ends. We describe an additional cofactor-assisted end-tracking motor to account for suggested roles of cofactors in the affinity-modulated interactions, such as profilin in actin-filament end-tracking motors and EB1 in microtubule end-tracking motors.