Cryo-ET suggests tubulin chaperones form a subset of microtubule lumenal particles with a role in maintaining neuronal microtubules.

ABSTRACT: The functional architecture of the long-lived neuronal microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton is maintained by various MT-associated proteins (MAPs), most of which are known to bind to the MT outer surface. However, electron microscopy (EM) has long ago revealed the presence of particles inside the lumens of neuronal MTs, of yet unknown identity and function. Here, we use cryogenic electron tomography (cryo-ET) to analyze the three-dimensional (3D) organization and structures of MT lumenal particles in primary hippocampal neurons, human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons, and pluripotent and differentiated P19 cells. We obtain in situ density maps of several lumenal particles from the respective cells and detect common structural features underscoring their potential overarching function

SUBMITTER: Chakraborty S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11804619 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature