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Assembly of GMPCPP-Bound Tubulin into Helical Ribbons and Tubes and Effect of Colchicine
Hong-Wei Wang, Sydney Long, K. Rose Finley and Eva Nogales
volume 4 | issue 9
September 2005Pages: 1157 - 1160
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Microtubule assembly and disassembly is a complex structural process that does not proceed by simple addition and subtraction of individual subunits to and from a helical polymer, as would be the case for actin and other helical assemblies. The dynamic process of microtubule growth and shrinking involves short-lasting polymer forms that differ substantially from the microtubule itself and constitute crucial assembly and disassembly intermediates. Structural characterization thus depends on the stabilization of these brief intermediates and their preservation as polymeric assemblies. This paper gives experimental details on the polymerization of GMPCPPtubulin into low-temperature stable polymers that we propose to correspond to the early stages in microtubule assembly and includes new data on the effect of colchicine on GMPCPP-tubulin polymerization. Finally, we include our thoughts on the possible biological meaning of tubulin polymerization versatility.
We now provide open access to journal articles published online for one year or more. This article may be downloaded at the following link:
Download PDF If the document does not open, please right-click on the link (control-click on a Macintosh) and select the option to save the file to disk.