title: Structural insights into human Kif7, a kinesin involved in Hedgehog signalling.
abstract: Kif7, a member of the kinesin 4 superfamily, is implicated in a variety of diseases including Joubert, hydrolethalus and acrocallosal syndromes. It is also involved in primary cilium formation and the Hedgehog signalling pathway and may play a role in cancer. Its activity is crucial for embryonic development. Kif7 and Kif27, a closely related kinesin in the same subfamily, are orthologues of the Drosophila melanogaster kinesin-like protein Costal-2 (Cos2). In vertebrates, they work together to fulfil the role of the single Cos2 gene in Drosophila. Here, the high-resolution structure of the human Kif7 motor domain is reported and is compared with that of conventional kinesin, the founding member of the kinesin superfamily. These data are a first step towards structural characterization of a kinesin-4 family member and of this interesting molecular motor of medical significance.
authors.affiliation: The Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, Garscube Estate, Switchback Road, Glasgow G61 1BD, Scotland. m.klejnot@beatson.gla.ac.uk
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Klejnot
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kozielski
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D006801:Humans; D016547:Kinesins / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: C502069:KIF7 protein, human; D016547:Kinesins