edoc

Microtubule plus-end conformations and dynamics in the periphery of interphase mouse fibroblasts

Zovko, Sandra and Abrahams, Jan Pieter and Koster, Abraham J. and Galjart, Niels and Mommaas, A. Mieke. (2008) Microtubule plus-end conformations and dynamics in the periphery of interphase mouse fibroblasts. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 19 (7). pp. 3138-3146.

Full text not available from this repository.

Official URL: https://edoc.unibas.ch/75845/

Downloads: Statistics Overview

Abstract

The plus ends of microtubules (MTs) alternate between phases of growth, pause, and shrinkage, a process called "dynamic instability." Cryo-EM of in vitro -assembled MTs indicates that the dynamic state of the plus end corresponds with a particular MT plus-end conformation. Frayed ("ram's horn like"), blunt, and sheet conformations are associated with shrinking, pausing, and elongating plus ends, respectively. A number of new conformations have recently been found in situ but their dynamic states remained to be confirmed. Here, we investigated the dynamics of MT plus ends in the peripheral area of interphase mouse fibroblasts (3T3s) using electron microscopical and tomographical analysis of cryo-fixed, freeze-substituted, and flat-embedded sections. We identified nine morphologically distinct plus-end conformations. The frequency of these conformations correlates with their proximity to the cell border, indicating that the dynamic status of a plus end is influenced by features present in the periphery. Shifting dynamic instability toward depolymerization with nocodazole enabled us to address the dynamic status of these conformations. We suggest a new transition path from growth to shrinkage via the so-called sheet-frayed and flared ends, and we present a kinetic model that describes the chronology of events taking place in nocodazole-induced MT depolymerization.
Faculties and Departments:05 Faculty of Science > Departement Biozentrum > Structural Biology & Biophysics > Nano-diffraction of Biological Specimen (Abrahams)
UniBasel Contributors:Abrahams, Jan Pieter
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:American Society for Cell Biology
ISSN:1059-1524
e-ISSN:1939-4586
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Identification Number:
Last Modified:06 Nov 2020 09:53
Deposited On:06 Nov 2020 09:53

Repository Staff Only: item control page