Microtubules in Biological News

The downside of microtubule stability

... Stalled microtubules might be responsible for some cases of the ... ( www.jcb.org ). A mutant protein makes the microtubules too stable to perform their jobs, the researchers ... how defective dynamin 2 hampers cells. Normal microtubules are continually extending and shrinking. ...

Advance in understanding cellulose synthesis

... version of tubulin, the protein from which microtubules are built. Using advanced imaging techniques, ... between the cellulose synthase complexes and microtubules begins. The scientists were able to watch ... but is inside the cell wall and found that the microtubules not only guide where the complexes go as they ...

Scientists deconstruct cell division

... the assembly of a 'skeleton' from tube-like microtubules and the construction of a poorly defined scaffold ... matrix. Nudel binds to lamin-B and brings it to microtubules where both Nudel and dynein then help the lamin-B ... spindle matrix, in turn, works with microtubules to orchestrate spindle assembly and cell ....

Scientists identify a molecule that coordinates the movement of cells

... edge," Fuchs explains. "We found that ACF7 guides microtubules along a roadway of actin cables and leads them ... periphery. Among the cargo transported along microtubules are factors that disassemble focal adhesions. ... at Rockefeller, found that without ACF7, microtubules were no longer guided toward the focal adhesions ...

A unique arrangement for egg cell division

... spindle consisting of protein filaments, called microtubules that are part of the cells skeleton. Spindle microtubules attach themselves to the chromosomes, separate ... cells contain two centrosomes from where the microtubules originate. They predetermine the bipolar ...

Cell 'anchors' required to prevent muscular dystrophy

... site where they are made to their specific destination. Ankyrin B helps microtubules align so dystrophin molecules can travel to the membrane and then ankyrin ... Bennett explained. "I'm excited because ankyrin-B's ability to anchor microtubules could have broad implications in many cell types," Bennett said. ...

Dartmouth researchers find new protein function

... study. "Rather than moving on its own, it hitches a ride on the ends of microtubules which results in a dynamic cross-linking between the arms of chromosomes ... motors either walked along their microtubule tracks or functioned to break microtubules apart," says Jon Kull, the senior author on the paper, associate professor ...

Penn scientists discover cells reorganize shape to fit the situation

... actin filaments, the cell membrane, and two protein complexes. microtubules are hollow protein pipes that arrange themselves in bundles down the long ... Terenna, found was that if normal yeast cells are forced to bend, their microtubules can no longer reach the old tip of the cell and so form new growth tips. ...

MIT IDs proteins key to brain function

... the growth of filopodia by regulating actin filaments interactions with microtubules in the cell (which form part of the cell skeleton). One theory is that the microtubules might be delivering materials or sending signals to the filopodia through ...

Slicing chromosomes leads to new insights into cell division

... ejection forces are thought to arise out of the interaction between protein motors on the arms of chromosomes that push against cells' microtubules. microtubules are long, thin tubes that form a central component of the cytoskeleton and the mitotic spindle. They serve as intracellular structural supports and ...

Mayo Clinic: Brain disorder suggests common mechanism may underlie many neurodegenerative diseases

... professor of neurology at Mayo Clinic. Molecules, vesicles and organelles within a cell are constantly carried via a network of crisscrossing microtubules that act like the tracks of an elaborate railroad system. Because, for the most part, neurons do not regenerate or divide as do other cells in the ...

Surprising origin of cell's internal highways

... movement and possibly cancer cell invasion. microtubules are the largest of the three main types of ... center (MTOC). From the MTOC, the growing microtubules launch out in all directions to the cell's ... that causes cells to move. While microtubules in some specialized cells can originate from ...

Gut research yields new anti-cancer approach

... providing structural support and shape to cells, microtubules expand and shrink to generate the force needed ... cells to divide, a basic process in tumor growth. microtubules are made of two related proteins, alpha and beta ... dynamics. To play their role in tumor growth, microtubules must remain flexible. Taxol, for example, ...

Molecular motors and brakes work together in cells

... School of Medicine have discovered that microtubules -- components responsible for shape, movement, ... to organize into their correct structure. If microtubules are not formed properly such basic functions as ... study lets us have a more complete picture." microtubules are structures that help give shape to many types ...

Biological motors sort molecules one by one on a chip

... possibility of inserting these kinesin-motors and microtubules in an electrically directed transport system that ... quantities on a surface with their 'feet' up; the microtubules (measuring approximately 1 to 15 micrometers in ... transported over the 'carpet' of motors. The microtubules are, as it were, 'crowd surfing' over the sea of ...

The shape of life: research sheds light on how cells take shape

... atoms wide ?but play critical roles in the body. microtubules help cells divide. They also act as scaffolds, ... and mitochondria around inside of cells. As microtubules multiply, they form patterns that can be seen by ... and Yongxing Guo, Valles and Tang grew their own microtubules then studied them under three types of ...

The making and breaking of microtubules

... microtubules are active protein polymers critical to the ... and shrinkage is key to the diverse workings of microtubules in the cell. For the first time, researchers ... structures of tubulin (the protein from which microtubules are formed) during the assembly and disassembly ...

Key mechanism in genetic inheritance during cell division identified

... the kinetochore proteins form rings around the microtubules and this ring formation promotes microtubule ... to each daughter cell. After which, the microtubules again disassemble and reform back into skeletal ... E. coli bacteria, and compared its effects on microtubules in vitro to the effects caused by certain Dam1 ...

Two central mysteries in genome inheritance solved at UCSD

... targets in cancer cells. "Right now, drugs used in chemotherapy affect microtubules in all the body's cells, resulting in adverse side effects, like nerve ... identified a complex of two proteins that bridges chromosomes and spindle microtubules and is required to detect attachment errors. This complex controls ...

One-dimensional diffusion accelerates molecular motors

... (Mitotic Centromere Associated Kinesin) goes into action at the end of microtubules where it disassembles them. This is in contrast to most other motor ... of microtubule gets regulated, nor how the proteins reach the end of the microtubules to be regulated. The Max Planck researchers looked at the example of ...

Formation of cellulose fibers tracked for the first time

... also included a fluorescent version of tubulin, the protein from which microtubules are built. Using an imaging technique that can track the motion of single ... exact nature of the interaction was hard to pinpoint," Ehrhardt said. "The microtubules act as more than a general scaffold for organizing the cell wall; ...

Marathon of nano-sprinters

... be considered the fuel of the cell. Kinesin and dynein motors move along microtubules and myosins move along actin filaments. The step sizes of these motors are ... spinal cord with the tips of our fingers and toes. Within such an axon, microtubules provide the tracks along which molecular motors transport their cargo, ...

Gene controls whether fear is a factor

... "For memory, the brain needs to quickly disassemble and rebuild microtubules to form connections where they are needed," Shumyatsky said. "It appears ... with this ability in the amygdala, leading to the overproduction of microtubules in certain areas. In essence, the cells lose their flexibility." ...

Widely used iron nanoparticles exhibit toxic effects on neuronal cells

... polymers inside the PC12 cells that make up the cytoskeletal structure. They found that iron oxide nanoparticles resulted in fewer and less organized microtubules and microfilaments, protein polymers involved in cell motility and cell shape. "It's worth noting that neither iron oxide nanoparticles alone, ...

Discovery of agile molecular motors could aid in treating motor neuron diseases

... how it all works in a living cell. In the lab, we start with a clean microtubule with a motor walking across it, but in the cell it's different: microtubules are packed together, with proteins studded along them, and cellular organelles and mitochondria are crammed in. The motor needs to maneuver around ...

Researchers now able to look deep into heart to view triggers of a heart's beat

... of other species there must be cellular mechanisms we haven't even imagined." Centrosomes help orchestrate cell division, building an apparatus of microtubules called the mitotic spindle, which pulls apart the duplicated chromosomes so that each of the two daughter cells gets a complete set of chromosomes. ...

Insects that produce males from unfertilized eggs reveal a surprising cellular feat

... of other species there must be cellular mechanisms we haven't even imagined." Centrosomes help orchestrate cell division, building an apparatus of microtubules called the mitotic spindle, which pulls apart the duplicated chromosomes so that each of the two daughter cells gets a complete set of chromosomes. ...

Liposome finding implies electrical effect on cell development

... than a micron--to produce a field up to one thousand times stronger). In images achieved through optical and scanning electron microscopy, microtubules were observed to immediately form and extend from the phospholipid balloon, like a seed putting forth a stalk or root. Hayes believes that the ...