Pericentrin contains internal adaptor-like sequences that activate dynein directly
- 1Syracuse University
Abstract
Centrosome maturation, the rapid growth of the centrosome before cell division, prepares the cell for spindle assembly. Pericentrin (PCNT), a coiled-coil centrosomal protein, is transported to the centrosome by dynein during its translation, and this co-translational transport promotes maturation. How dynein engages PCNT remains unclear. We show that PCNT residues 1393-1525 are required for the dynein-dynactin interaction. This region shares bulk sequence features with canonical dynein cargo adaptors, and three of five synthetic sequences matching these features fully or partially restored transport of a PCNT variant lacking residues 1393-1525. PCNT is predicted to contact dynein heavy chain at sites used by canonical adaptors, and mutating these sites abolished transport. Purified PCNT activated dynein-dynactin directly without additional factors. These results suggest that PCNT binds and activates dynein through an adaptor-like sequence, with no separate adaptor, and that dynein recognizes cargoes by more diverse mechanisms than previously recognized, including an internal rather than N-terminal binding region.
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BibTeX
@misc{zhang2026pericentrin,
title = {{Pericentrin contains internal adaptor-like sequences that activate dynein directly}},
author = {W. Zhang and A. G. Sangster and T. T. Nguyen and J. P. Gillies and S. Melancon and J.-L. Shiu and T. H. Huang and A. G. Iragavarapu and X. Jiang and J. Mia and H. Aydin and M. E. DeSantis and A. M. Moses and L.-E. Jao},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = may,
doi = {10.64898/2026.05.22.727342},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.22.727342v2},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Pericentrin contains internal adaptor-like sequences that activate dynein directly
AU - W. Zhang
AU - A. G. Sangster
AU - T. T. Nguyen
AU - J. P. Gillies
AU - S. Melancon
AU - J.-L. Shiu
AU - T. H. Huang
AU - A. G. Iragavarapu
AU - X. Jiang
AU - J. Mia
AU - H. Aydin
AU - M. E. DeSantis
AU - A. M. Moses
AU - L.-E. Jao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/22
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.05.22.727342
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.22.727342v2
AB - Centrosome maturation, the rapid growth of the centrosome before cell division, prepares the cell for spindle assembly. Pericentrin (PCNT), a coiled-coil centrosomal protein, is transported to the centrosome by dynein during its translation, and this co-translational transport promotes maturation. How dynein engages PCNT remains unclear. We show that PCNT residues 1393-1525 are required for the dynein-dynactin interaction. This region shares bulk sequence features with canonical dynein cargo adaptors, and three of five synthetic sequences matching these features fully or partially restored transport of a PCNT variant lacking residues 1393-1525. PCNT is predicted to contact dynein heavy chain at sites used by canonical adaptors, and mutating these sites abolished transport. Purified PCNT activated dynein-dynactin directly without additional factors. These results suggest that PCNT binds and activates dynein through an adaptor-like sequence, with no separate adaptor, and that dynein recognizes cargoes by more diverse mechanisms than previously recognized, including an internal rather than N-terminal binding region.
ER -