Virtually all animal cells rapidly and specifically depress synthesis of new alpha- and beta-tubulin polypeptides in response to microtubule inhibitors that increase the pool of depolymerized subunits, or in response to direct elevation of the cellular tubulin subunit content through microinjection of exogenous tubulin subunits. Collectively, these previous findings have documented the presence...

BACKGROUND Class III β-tubulin (βIII-tubulin) has been reported to express at the invasive margin of colorectal cancer. The present study aimed to investigate the clinical implication of βIII-tubulin expression at the invasive margin of colorectal cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS We recruited 111 patients with surgically resected colorectal carcinoma for bIII-tubulin expression analysis. The cases ...

Oligoanions such as sodium triphosphate or GTP prevent and/or reverse vinblastine-induced polymerization of tubulin. We now show that the anions of glutamate-rich extreme C termini of tubulin are similarly involved in the regulation of the vinblastine effect. Cleavage of the C termini by limited proteolysis with subtilisin enhances vinblastine-induced tubulin polymerization and abolishes the an...

Glutamylation is a functionally important tubulin posttranslational modification enriched on stable microtubules of neuronal axons, mitotic spindles, centrioles, and cilia. In vertebrates, balanced activities of tubulin glutamyl ligase and cytoplasmic carboxypeptidase deglutamylase enzymes maintain organelle- and cell type-specific tubulin glutamylation patterns. Tubulin glutamylation in cilia ...

The calcium concentration required to inhibit tubulin polymerization by 50% (Ca2+ sensitivity) extends from the micromolar to the millimolar range and is a function of a number of factors that include 1) a steep, inverse dependence on tubulin concentration: two-cycle tubulin has lower Ca2+ sensitivity than pure tubulin (prepared by a novel method described under "Appendix"); 2) temperature: Ca2...

Two types of ultrastructurally distinct tubulin paracrystals have been induced in sea-urchin eggs with vinblastine sulphate (VLB) under different sets of conditions. One type of paracrystal appears to consist of hexagonally-close packed microtubules and closely resembles paracrystals present in mammalian cells treated with vinblastine or vincristine sulphate, but not previously reported in sea-...

Microtubule research is becoming increasingly diverse, reflecting the many isoforms and modifications of tubulin and the many proteins with which microtubules interact. Recent advances are particularly visible in four areas: microtubule motor proteins (their structures, stepping modes, and forces); microtubule nucleation (the roles of centrosomes and gamma-tubulin); tubulin folding (mediated by...

The detyrosination/retyrosination cycle is the most common post-translational modification of α-tubulin. Removal conserved C-terminal tyrosine α-tubulin by a still elusive tubulin carboxypeptidase, and religation this ligase (TTL), are probably to all eukaryotes. Interestingly, for plants, only candidates qualifying as potential TTL homologs ligase-like 12 proteins. To get insight into biologic...

In the present study, two new series of pyrrolizines bearing 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl moiety were designed, synthesised, and evaluated for their cytotoxic activity. The benzamide derivatives 16a–e showed higher cytotoxicity than corresponding Schiff bases 15a–e. Compounds 16a,b,d also inhibited growth MCF-7/ADR cells with IC50 in range 0.52–6.26 ?M. Interestingly, compounds less against normal MR...

Tubulin proteostasis is regulated by a group of molecular chaperones termed tubulin cofactors (TBC). Whereas tubulin heterodimer formation is well-characterized biochemically, its dissociation pathway is not clearly understood. Here, we carried out biochemical assays to dissect the role of the human TBCE and TBCB chaperones in α-tubulin-β-tubulin dissociation. We used electron microscopy and im...