Lattice defects induced by microtubule-stabilizing agents exert a long-range effect on microtubule growth by promoting catastrophes.

ABSTRACT: Microtubules are dynamic cytoskeletal polymers that spontaneously switch between phases of growth and shrinkage. The probability of transitioning from growth to shrinkage, termed catastrophe, increases with microtubule age, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we set out to test whether microtubule lattice defects formed during polymerization can affect growth at the plus end. To generate microtubules with lattice defects, we used microtubule-stabilizing agents that promote formation of polymers with different protofilament numbers. By employing different agents during nucleation of stable microtubule seeds and the subsequent polymerization phase, we could reproducibly induce switches in protofilament number and induce stable lattice defects. Such drug-induced defects

SUBMITTER: Rai A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8713758 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature