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Organization of microtubules in dendrites and axons is determined by a short hydrophobic zipper in microtubule-associated proteins MAP2 and tau

Abstract

Here we report that the microtubule-associated proteins MAP2 and tau share two separable functional domains. One is the microtubule-binding site which serves to nucleate microtubule assembly; the second is a short C-terminal α-helical sequence which can crosslink microtubules by means of a hydrophobic zipper interaction into dense stable parallel arrays characteristic of axons or dendrites. Thus, interactions between molecules of a single type are capable of drastically reorganizing microtubules and completely suppressing their dynamic properties.

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Lewis, S., Ivanov, I., Lee, GH. et al. Organization of microtubules in dendrites and axons is determined by a short hydrophobic zipper in microtubule-associated proteins MAP2 and tau. Nature 342, 498–505 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/342498a0

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