Theory of tip structure-dependent microtubule catastrophes and damage-induced microtubule rescues.

ABSTRACT: Microtubules are essential cytoskeletal polymers that exhibit stochastic switches between tubulin assembly and disassembly. Here, we examine possible mechanisms for these switches, called catastrophes and rescues. We formulate a four-state Monte Carlo model, explicitly considering two biochemical and two conformational states of tubulin, based on a recently conceived view of microtubule assembly with flared ends. The model predicts that high activation energy barriers for lateral tubulin interactions can cause lagging of curled protofilaments, leading to a ragged appearance of the growing tip. Changes in the extent of tip raggedness explain some important but poorly understood features of microtubule catastrophe: weak dependence on tubulin concentration and an increase in its probability o

SUBMITTER: Alexandrova VV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9674256 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature