. These newly recognized interactions of BIG1 and KIF21A should enable us to understand better the mechanisms through which, acting together, they may integrate local events in membrane trafficking with longer-range transport processes and to relate those processes to the diverse signaling and scaffold functions of BIG1.ADP-ribosylation factor 1 ͉ Golgi ͉ microtubule B refeldin A-inhibited guanine nucleotide-exchange protein (BIG) 1, a member of the Sec7 family of ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) guanine nucleotide-exchange proteins (GEP), activates class I ARFs (human ARF1 and 3) by catalyzing replacement of ARF-bound GDP with GTP, to initiate membrane vesicle formation (1-3). BIG1 had been localized at trans-Golgi structures (4, 5); by electron microscopy, Golgi membranes in BIG1-depleted cells were less sharply defined and had more vesicle-like structures at the trans face than those in control or BIG2 siRNA-treated cells (6). BIG1 also was found in nuclei of serum-deprived HepG2 cells or after their brief incubation with the immunosuppressive drug FK506 (7) or with cAMP (8).In the ϳ 200-kDa BIG1 molecule, a central ARF-activating Sec7 domain was the first recognized functional structure (9). Elements identified later include a site in the N-terminal region that interacts with FK506-binding protein 13 (10) and an A kinase-anchoring protein sequence identical to one of three such sequences that differ in specificities for binding each of the four cAMP-dependent protein kinase regulatory (R) subunits and that were first identified in BIG2 (11), the very similar GEP initially co-purified with BIG1 (9). PKA-catalyzed phosphorylation of serine-883, a predicted substrate site in BIG1, was required for its cAMP-induced nuclear accumulation (8). Later experiments with recombinant proteins in vitro demonstrated that GEP activity of BIG1 was decreased after phosphorylation by PKA (12). Most recently, it was reported that BIG1, nucleolin, U3 small nucleolar RNA, the U3-binding protein fibrillarin, and the RNA-binding protein La may exist together in nuclear complexes, consistent with a potential role for BIG1 in nucleolar function (13). The C-terminal region of BIG1 includes a binding site for myosin IXb. This motor protein possesses GTPaseactivating protein activity for Rho that is inhibited by competition with RhoA for binding to myosin IXb (14).A role for myosin IXb in the translocation of BIG1 along actin fibers in cells remains to be demonstrated. We present here evidence that BIG1 interacts directly with the motor protein KIF21A, which is involved in its microtubule-dependent transport. KIF21A is a member of the family of kinesin proteins that control cell morphogenesis, survival, and other functions (15). The 45 KIF molecules are classified according to position of the motor domain as N-terminal, middle, and C-terminal types, respectively, N-, M-, and C-kinesins (16). KIF21A is an N-kinesin that acts as a plus-end-directed motor to move cargo away from the microtubule-organizing center. BIG1 activation of ARF1 also ...