Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 3, 2026
12:20
Preparation of Segmented Microtubules to Study Motions Driven by the Disassembling Microtubule Ends
Published on: March 16, 2014
Microtubule plus-end-tracking proteins: mechanisms and functions
Anna Akhmanova1, Casper C Hoogenraad
1Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Erasmus Medical Center, PO Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands. anna.akhmanova@chello.nl
Current Opinion in Cell Biology
|January 22, 2005
Summary
Microtubule plus-end-tracking proteins (+TIPs) dynamically accumulate at growing microtubule tips. Their regulation is crucial for microtubule network structure, cell division, motility, and morphogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Microtubule plus-end-tracking proteins (+TIPs) are key regulators of microtubule dynamics.
- +TIPs exhibit dynamic localization at the distal ends of growing microtubules.
- These proteins are involved in stabilizing microtubules and linking them to cellular structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the mechanisms of +TIP localization and function.
- To understand the role of +TIPs in cellular processes.
- To highlight the importance of +TIP regulation in cell biology.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of protein localization dynamics.
- Investigating protein-microtubule interactions.
- Studying the effects of +TIPs on microtubule networks.
Main Results:
- +TIPs specifically bind to growing microtubule tips and detach from older lattice.
- +TIPs are transported towards microtubule plus-ends.
- +TIPs associate with other +TIPs and cellular structures.
Conclusions:
- +TIPs are essential for microtubule network organization.
- Regulation of +TIPs is critical for cell division, motility, and morphogenesis.
- +TIPs serve as crucial links between microtubules and cellular components.
Related Concept Videos
01:35Microtubules
There are three types of cytoskeletal structures in eukaryotic cells—microfilaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules. With a diameter of about 25 nm, microtubules are the thickest of these fibers. Microtubules carry out a variety of functions that include cell structure and support, transport of organelles, cell motility (movement), and the separation of chromosomes during cell division.Microtubules are hollow tubes whose walls are made up of globular tubulin proteins. Each tubulin...
01:18Microtubules
Microtubules are the thickest cytoskeletal filaments with a diameter of 25 nm. In prokaryotic organisms, microtubules are commonly found in locomotory appendages like cilia and flagella. In eukaryotic cells, microtubules form specialized extensions for moving fluid over the surface, like those found in cells lining the intestine.
Microtubules have two structurally similar globular protein subunits: α and β tubulins. In the cytosol, the α and β tubulins form a heterodimer. These αβ-heterodimers...
Microtubules have two structurally similar globular protein subunits: α and β tubulins. In the cytosol, the α and β tubulins form a heterodimer. These αβ-heterodimers...
01:23Microtubule Formation
Microtubules are dynamic structures that undergo continuous assembly and disassembly. They originate from specialized multi-protein complexes known as microtubule organizing centers or MTOCs. Within the MTOC, the point of origin of the microtubule is known as the minus end, while the end radiating outward is the plus end. Microtubules serve two primary functions — the organization of spindle complexes to separate sister chromatids during mitotic or meiotic cell division and the formation of...
01:42Microtubule Associated Proteins (MAPs)
Microtubule function and architecture are regulated by an array of specialized proteins called microtubule-associated proteins or MAPs. These proteins are widespread across different organisms and have conserved protein motifs, like the multi-TOG domain for tubulin binding found in the CLASP family of MAPs. Some MAPs are lineage-specific based on their conserved domains. Their functions depend upon the cytoskeletal architecture and cell type they are located within. In-plant cells, a specific...
01:32Microtubule Associated Motor Proteins
Eukaryotic cells have different motor proteins for transporting various cargo within the cell. These motor proteins differ based on the filament they associate with, the direction they move within the cell, and the type of cargo they transport. Motor proteins that associate with microtubules are known as microtubule-associated motor proteins. There are two families of microtubule-associated motor proteins —Kinesins and Dyneins. Both these proteins assist in the transport of cellular cargos...
01:39Anaphase A and B
Microtubules form through the end-to-end polymerization of tubulin heterodimers. Kinetochore microtubules originate from the spindle poles, and their plus-ends connect with the kinetochores on sister-chromatids. Ndc80 protein complexes, present on the kinetochore, form low-affinity links with the plus end of these kinetochore microtubules.
Plus-end depolymerization releases tubulin heterodimers from the terminal region of the microtubule. As tubulin subunits are lost, the Ndc80 complexes detach...
Plus-end depolymerization releases tubulin heterodimers from the terminal region of the microtubule. As tubulin subunits are lost, the Ndc80 complexes detach...