We used computer simulation to understand the functional relationships between motor (dynein, HSET, and Eg5) and non-motor (NuMA) proteins involved in microtubule aster organization. The simulation accurately predicted microtubule organization under all combinations of motor and non-motor proteins, provided that microtubule cross-links at minus-ends were dynamic, and dynein and HSET were restri...

In Chinese hamster ovary cells, microtubules originate at the microtubule organizing center (MTOC) and grow persistently toward the cell edge, where they undergo catastrophe. In axons, microtubule dynamics must be regulated differently because microtubules grow parallel to the plasma membrane and there is no MTOC. GFP-tagged microtubule plus end tracking proteins (+TIPs) mark the ends of growin...

Microtubule plus end dynamics are regulated by a conserved family of proteins called plus end-tracking proteins (+TIPs). It is unclear how various +TIPs interact with each other and with plus ends to control microtubule behavior. The centrosome-associated protein TACC3, a member of the transforming acidic coiled-coil (TACC) domain family, has been implicated in regulating several aspects of mic...

We used computer simulation to understand the functional relationships between motor (dynein, HSET, and Eg5) and non-motor (NuMA) proteins involved in microtubule aster organization. The simulation accurately predicted microtubule organization under all combinations of motor and non-motor proteins, provided that microtubule cross-links at minusends were dynamic, and dynein and HSET were restric...

We previously described the isolation of Tax 18 and Tax 11-6, two paclitaxel-dependent cell lines that assemble low amounts of microtubule polymer and require the drug for cell division. In the present studies, fluorescence time-lapse microscopy was used to measure microtubule dynamic instability behavior in these cells. The mutations were found to cause small decreases in microtubule growth an...

During mitosis, chromatid harnesses its kinetochore translocation at the depolymerizing microtubule ends for its poleward movement in anaphase A. The force generation mechanism for such movement remains unknown. Analysis of the current experimental results shows that the bending energy release from the bound tubulin subunits alone cannot provide sufficient driving force. Additional contribution...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa uses a type III secretion system to introduce the adenylyl and guanylyl cyclase exotoxin Y (ExoY) into the cytoplasm of endothelial cells. ExoY induces Tau hyperphosphorylation and insolubility, microtubule breakdown, barrier disruption and edema, although the mechanism(s) responsible for microtubule breakdown remain poorly understood. Here we investigated both microtubul...

Proper regulation of microtubule dynamics is essential for cell functions and involves various microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs). Among them, end-binding proteins (EBs) accumulate at microtubule plus ends, whereas structural MAPs bind along the microtubule lattice. Recent data indicate that the structural MAP tau modulates EB subcellular localization in neurons. However, the molecular dete...