The TOG5 domain of CKAP5 is required to interact with F-actin and promote microtubule advancement in neurons

Microtubule (MT) and F-actin cytoskeletal cross-talk and organization are important aspects of axon guidance mechanisms, but how associated proteins facilitate this function remains largely unknown. While the MT-associated protein, CKAP5 (XMAP215/ch-TOG), has been best characterized as a MT polymerase, we have recently highlighted a novel role for CKAP5 in facilitating interactions between MT and F-actin in vitro and in embryonic Xenopus laevis neuronal growth cones. However, the mechanism by which it does so is unclear. Here, using in vitro reconstitution assays coupled with total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, we report that the TOG5 domain of CKAP5 is necessary for its ability to bind to and bundle actin filaments, as well as to cross-link MTs and F-actin in vitro. Additionally, we show that this novel MT/F-actin cross-linking function of CKAP5 is possible even in MT polymerase–incompetent mutants of CKAP5 in vivo. Indeed, CKAP5 requires both MT and F-actin binding, but not MT polymerization, to promote MT-F-actin alignment in growth cones and axon outgrowth. Taken together, our findings provide mechanistic insights into how MT populations penetrate the growth cone periphery through CKAP5-facilitated interaction with F-actin during axon outgrowth and guidance.