Mechanical properties of tubulin intra- and inter-dimer interfaces and their implications for microtubule dynamic instability.

ABSTRACT: Thirteen tubulin protofilaments, made of αβ-tubulin heterodimers, interact laterally to produce cytoskeletal microtubules. Microtubules exhibit the striking property of dynamic instability, manifested in their intermittent growth and shrinkage at both ends. This behavior is key to many cellular processes, such as cell division, migration, maintenance of cell shape, etc. Although assembly and disassembly of microtubules is known to be linked to hydrolysis of a guanosine triphosphate molecule in the pocket of β-tubulin, detailed mechanistic understanding of corresponding conformational changes is still lacking. Here we take advantage of the recent generation of in-microtubule structures of tubulin to examine the properties of protofilaments, which serve as important microtubule assembly and

SUBMITTER: Fedorov VA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6742422 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature