Adam Hendricks
Associate Professor
Graduate Program Director (Biological and Biomedical Engineering)
Ph.D. University of Michigan
M.S. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Many essential cellular functions – cell division, motility, protein synthesis, intracellular transport, and others – are driven by motor proteins, a specialized set of enzymes that convert chemical energy into mechanical work. Two motor proteins, kinesin and cytoplasmic dynein, are responsible for the long-range transport of mRNA, proteins, organelles, and signaling molecules along the microtubule cytoskeleton. Active transport by kinesin and dynein is critical for the maintenance of biosynthetic, signaling, and degradative pathways in the cell. Long and highly-polarized cells like neurons are particularly sensitive, and accordingly mutations in kinesin or dynein cause neurodegenerative disease in mouse models and humans. Further, defects in intracellular transport have been linked to many neurodegenerative diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Huntington’s disease.
In the complex cellular environment, kinesin and dynein are regulated by interactions with the cytoskeleton, other motor proteins, and binding partners. These interactions allow motors to perform complicated functions such as cell division and the targeted trafficking of intracellular cargoes. The Hendricks lab is focused on understanding how motor proteins function collectively, and how interactions among motor proteins and with the complex cellular environment modulate their behavior. We employ in vitro experiments that incorporate aspects of the cellular environment, high-resolution tracking and manipulation in living cells, and mathematical modeling to understand motor protein dynamics in the cell. In particular, we aim to develop methods to extend the application of single molecule techniques such as optical trapping, FRET, and subpixel resolution tracking to examine motor function in living cells.
- BIEN 219: Introduction to Physical Molecular and Cell Biology
- BIEN 530: Imaging and Bioanalytical Instrumentation
- BIEN 550: Biomolecular Devices
L Balabanian , DV Lessard, K Swaminathan , P Yaninska , M Sébastien , S Wang , PW Stevens , PW Wiseman, CL
Berger. AG Hendricks , “Tau differentially regulates the transport of early endosomes and lysosomes” Molecular
Biology of the Cell (2022) https://www.molbiolcell.org/doi/10.109 1/mbc.E22-01-0018
ACario, A Savastano, NB Wood, Z Liu. MJ Previs, AG Hendricks ,M Zweckstetter, CL Berger’The pathogenic R5L
mutation disrupts formation of tau complexes on the microtubule by altering local N-terminal structure” PNAS 119{7)
(2022) e2114215119 https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.15.464588
S Nithianantham’, MK lwanski* , | Gaska, H Pandey, T Bodrug, S Inagaki, J Major, GJ Brouhard, L Gheber, SS
Rosenfeld, S Forth", AG Hendricks® , J Al-Bassam”, “The mechanochemical origins of the microtubule sliding motility
within the kinesin-5 domain organization” BioRxiv (2021) https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.12.463902
L-P Bergeron-Sandoval, S Kumar, HK Heris ,CLA Chang, CE Cornell, SL Keller, P Francois, AG Hendricks . AJ
Ehrlicher, RV Pappu, SW Michnick; Endocytic proteins with prion-like domains form viscoelastic condensates that
enable membrane remodeling” PNAS 118(50) (2021). https://doi.org/10.107 3/pnas.2113789118.
LChaubet , HK Heris , AJ Ehrlicher, AG Hendricks , “Dynamic crosslinking of the actin cytoskeleton governs cell
mechanics at long timescales” Molecular Biology of the Cell 31(16) (2020) 1651-1821
https://www.molbiolcell.org/doi/ 10.109 1/mbc.E 19-09-0504
AR Chaudhary , H Lu, EB Krementsova, CS Bookwalter, KM Trybus, AG Hendricks , “MAP7 regulates organelle
transport by recruiting kinesin- 1 to microtubules” Journal of Biological Chemistry 294({26) (2019) 10160-10171 doi:
https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.RA119.008052
AR Chaudhary, F Berger. CL Berger, AG Hendricks . “Tau directs intracellular trafficking by regulating the forces
exerted by kinesin and dynein teams” Traffic 19 (2018) 111-121 https://doi.org/10.1111/tra.12537.
L Balabanian , CL Berger, AG Hendricks , “Acetylated microtubules are preferentially bundled leading to enhanced
kinesin-1 motility” Biophysical Journal 113 (2017) 1-10. Selected for the Collection: Microtubules and Motors
http:/Awww.cell.com/biophysj/collections/microtubules-and-motors
S Yogev, Cl Maeder, R Cooper, M Horowitz, AG Hendricks , K Shen, “Local inhibition of microtubule dynamics by
dynein is required for neuronal cargo distribution in C. elegans” Nature Communications 8 (2017) 15063.
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