Microtubule dynamics and polarity stem from the polymerization of αβ-tubulin heterodimers. Five conserved tubulin cofactors/chaperones and the Arl2 GTPase regulate α- and β-tubulin assembly into heterodimers and maintain the soluble tubulin pool in the cytoplasm, but their physical mechanisms are unknown. Here, we reconstitute a core tubulin chaperone consisting of tubulin cofactors TBCD, TBCE,...

Lung endothelial damage contributes to the pathogenesis of acute lung injury. New strategies against lung endothelial barrier dysfunction may provide therapeutic benefits against lung vascular injury. Cell-cell junctions and microtubule cytoskeleton are basic components in maintaining endothelial barrier integrity. HDAC6, a deacetylase primarily localized in the cytoplasm, has been reported to ...

We have previously demonstrated the ability of I-Trp to disrupt the protein-protein interaction of β-tubulin with chaperonin-containing TCP-1β (CCT-β). This caused more severe apoptosis in multidrug-resistant MES-SA/Dx5, compared to MES-SA, due to its higher CCT-β overexpression. In this study, we screened a panel of cancer cell lines, finding CCT-β overexpression in the triple-negative breast ...

Microtubules are unique cytoskeletal structures that have structural subunits of αβ tubulin. Taxol is a typical microtubule stabilizing drug. The epothilones are other natural products with similar mechanism of action totaxol. Despite the highly conserved nature of β-tubulin, some organism like Saccharomyces cerevesia (S.cerevesia) is resistance to taxol, but sensitive to epothilones. In order ...

β-tubulins are structural components of microtubules and the targets of benzimidazole fungicides used to control many diseases of agricultural importance. Intron polymorphisms in the intron-rich genes of these proteins have been used in phylogeographic investigations of phytopathogenic fungi. In this work, we sequenced 2764 nucleotides of the β-tubulin gene (Pp tubB) in samples of Phakopsora pa...

Ovarian cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer deaths. Thus, new biomarkers predictive of response to the standard paclitaxel-carboplatin treatment are needed to improve chemotherapy strategies. MicroRNAs have the potential to modify drug outcomes. Based on this, we have demonstrated in this study that patients with a high expression of the miR-200 family show low levels of β-tubuli...

The aim of the present study was to determine the frequency and predictive value of the expression of tumor microtubule components in patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer (R-NSCLC) subsequently treated with vinorelbine-based adjuvant chemotherapy. The expression of the microtubule components was evaluated in 85 R-NSCLC tumor samples using immunohistochemistry. All patients received...

Dystonia type 4 (DYT4) was first described in a large family from Heacham in Norfolk with an autosomal dominantly inherited whispering dysphonia, generalized dystonia, and a characteristic hobby horse ataxic gait. We carried out a genetic linkage analysis in the extended DYT4 family that spanned 7 generations from England and Australia, revealing a single LOD score peak of 6.33 on chromosome 19...

The C.elegans tubulin family is composed of nine α-tubulins, six β-tubulins, and one γ- tubulin. Tubulins are highly conserved, functioning as α-β heterodimers that assemble into microtubules. These cylindrical and ubiquitous components of the cytoskeleton are critical for nearly all cellular and developmental processes. C. elegans has provided a model for the study of microtubules in multiple ...

The aim of the current study was to evaluate primary (human bronchial epithelial cells, HBEC) and non-primary (Calu-3, BEAS-2B, BEAS-2B R1) bronchial epithelial cell culture systems as air-liquid interface- (ALI-) differentiated models for asthma research. Ability to differentiate into goblet (MUC5AC+) and ciliated (β-Tubulin IV+) cells was evaluated by confocal imaging and qPCR. Expression of ...