RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 β-Tubulin carboxy-terminal tails exhibit isotype-specific effects on microtubule dynamics in human gene-edited cells
JF Life Science Alliance
JO Life Sci. Alliance
FD Life Science Alliance LLC
SP e201800059
DO 10.26508/lsa.201800059
VO 1
IS 2
A1 Parker, Amelia L
A1 Teo, Wee Siang
A1 Pandzic, Elvis
A1 Vicente, Juan Jesus
A1 McCarroll, Joshua A
A1 Wordeman, Linda
A1 Kavallaris, Maria
YR 2018
UL http://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/1/2/e201800059.abstract
AB Microtubules are highly dynamic structures that play an integral role in fundamental cellular functions. Different α- and β-tubulin isotypes are thought to confer unique dynamic properties to microtubules. The tubulin isotypes have highly conserved structures, differing mainly in their carboxy-terminal (C-terminal) tail sequences. However, little is known about the importance of the C-terminal tail in regulating and coordinating microtubule dynamics. We developed syngeneic human cell models using gene editing to precisely modify the β-tubulin C-terminal tail region while preserving the endogenous microtubule network. Fluorescent microscopy of live cells, coupled with advanced image analysis, revealed that the β-tubulin C-terminal tails differentially coordinate the collective and individual dynamic behavior of microtubules by affecting microtubule growth rates and explorative microtubule assembly in an isotype-specific manner. Furthermore, βI- and βIII-tubulin C-terminal tails differentially regulate the sensitivity of microtubules to tubulin-binding agents and the microtubule depolymerizing protein mitotic centromere-associated kinesin. The sequence of the β-tubulin tail encodes regulatory information that instructs and coordinates microtubule dynamics, thereby fine-tuning microtubule dynamics to support cellular functions.