Role of KIFC3 motor protein in Golgi positioning and integration

KIFC3, a microtubule (MT) minus end–directed kinesin superfamily protein, is expressed abundantly and is associated with the Golgi apparatus in adrenocortical cells. We report here that disruption of the kifC3 gene induced fragmentation of the Golgi apparatus when cholesterol was depleted. Analysis of the reassembly process of the Golgi apparatus revealed bidirectional movement of the Golgi fragments in both wild-type and kifC3^−/− cells. However, we observed a markedly reduced inwardly directed motility of the Golgi fragments in cholesterol-depleted kifC3^−/− cells compared with either cholesterol-depleted wild-type cells or cholesterol-replenished kifC3^−/− cells. These results suggest that (a) under the cholesterol-depleted condition, reduced inwardly directed motility of the Golgi apparatus results in the observed Golgi scattering phenotype in kifC3^−/− cells, and (b) cholesterol is necessary for the Golgi fragments to attain sufficient inwardly directed motility by MT minus end–directed motors other than KIFC3, such as dynein, in kifC3^−/− cells. Furthermore, we showed that Golgi scattering was much more drastic in kifC3^−/− cells than in wild-type cells to the exogenous dynamitin expression even in the presence of cholesterol. These results collectively demonstrate that KIFC3 plays a complementary role in Golgi positioning and integration with cytoplasmic dynein.