Modified heptapeptide from tau binds both tubulin and microtubules

Microtubules are the major cytoskeletal component in eukaryotes which are essential for a large spectrum of cellular activities. Monitoring the behavior of microtubules is helpful for a better understanding of the regulatory mechanism governing microtubule architecture and microtubule-based activities. Here, we characterized the binding capability of a modified heptapeptide from tau to both tubulin and microtubules and sought to develop it as a fluorescent peptide for monitoring microtubules.

To deliver the fluorescent peptide into the cells, a cell-penetrating peptide was conjugated to the modified heptapeptide from tau and synthesized. The affinity of the modified heptapeptide was determined by microscale thermophoresis. The microtubule labeling ability was determined by adding the peptide into the polymerized microtubule solutions or cultured HeLa cells.; RESULTS: Affinity determination revealed that the tau-derived peptide specifically bound to tubulin. In addition, the peptide was able to label polymerized microtubules in solution, although no obvious microtubule filaments were observed clearly in living cells, probably due to the inadequate affinity.

These results suggest that using a peptide-based strategy for imaging microtubules might be plausible and attempts to improve its affinity is warranted in the future.