The C-terminus of alpha-tubulin undergoes a reversible posttranslational tyrosination/detyrosination. The distributions of the tyrosinated (Tyr) and nontyrosinated (Glu) species during mitosis of cultured cells have been investigated by immunofluorescence using antibodies directed against the C-terminus of either Tyr or Glu tubulin. The distribution of Tyr tubulin differed from that of Glu tubu...

The antitumor drug paclitaxel stabilizes microtubules and reduces their dynamicity, promoting mitotic arrest and eventually apoptosis. Upon assembly of the alpha/beta-tubulin heterodimer, GTP becomes bound to both the alpha and beta-tubulin monomers. During microtubule assembly, the GTP bound to beta-tubulin is hydrolyzed to GDP, eventually reaching steady-state equilibrium between free tubulin...

As a major component of the cytoskeleton, microtubules consist of αβ-tubulin heterodimers and have been recognized as attractive targets for cancer chemotherapy. Microtubule-stabilizing agents (MSAs) promote polymerization of tubulin and stabilize the polymer, preventing depolymerization. The molecular mechanisms by which MSAs stabilize microtubules remain elusive. Here we report a 2.05 Å cryst...

The role of post-translational tubulin modifications in the development and maintenance of a polarized epithelium is not well understood. We studied the balance between detyrosinated (detyr-) and tyrosinated (tyr-) tubulin in the formation of MDCK cell monolayers. Increased quantities of detyrosinated microtubules were detected during assembly into confluent cell sheets. These tubules were comp...

BACKGROUND Mammalian megakaryocytes release blood platelets through a remarkable process of cytoplasmic fragmentation and de novo assembly of a marginal microtubule band. Cell-specific components of this process include the divergent beta-tubulin isoform beta1 that is expressed exclusively, and is the predominant isoform, in platelets and megakaryocytes. The functional significance of this rest...

Background: The microtubule network, upon which transport occurs in higher cells, is formed by the polymerization of a and 3 tubulin. The third major tubulin isoform, y tubulin, is believed to serve a role in organizing this network by nucleating microtubule growth on microtubule-organizing centers, such as the centrosome. Research in vitro has shown that y tubulin must be restored to stripped ...

The beta 2-tubulin isotype of Physarum polycephalum is only 83% identical in amino acid sequence with the constitutively expressed beta 1B-tubulin and the myxamoeba-specific beta 1A-tubulin isotypes. A polyclonal antibody specific for beta 2-tubulin was used to monitor the subcellular distribution of the beta 2-tubulin antigen in the mitotic spindle of the mature plasmodium - the sole microtubu...

More than 20 years ago, biochemical analysis of the eukaryotic cell cytoskeleton revealed the major component proteins. The heterodimeric (α/β) protein tubulin was defined as the building block of microtubules, assembled in a polar manner into specifically arranged protofilaments in the microtubule wall [1]. The next two members of the tubulin protein superfamily were both discovered by genetic...

To investigate the orientation of alpha- and beta-tubulin heterodimers within microtubules, we cloned a phage display antibody to alpha-tubulin. The N-terminal 100 residues of alpha-tubulin were bacterially expressed and used to select clones from a large repertoire of antibody-expressing phagemid particles. One clone reacted with the expressed alpha-tubulin N terminus and native tubulin dimer ...