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Updated: Feb 10, 2026

Author Spotlight: Understanding Microtubule Network in Drosophila Neuromuscular Junctions
Published on: October 20, 2023
Tracking the ends: a dynamic protein network controls the fate of microtubule tips
Anna Akhmanova1, Michel O Steinmetz
1Department of Cell Biology, Erasmus Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, the Netherlands. a.akhmanova@erasmusmc.nl
Abstract:
Microtubule plus-end tracking proteins (+TIPs) are a diverse group of evolutionarily conserved cellular factors that accumulate at the ends of growing microtubules. They form dynamic networks through the interaction of a limited set of protein modules, repeat sequences and linear motifs that bind to each other with moderate affinities. +TIPs regulate different aspects of cell architecture by controlling microtubule dynamics, microtubule interactions with cellular structures and signalling factors, and the forces that are exerted on microtubule networks.
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