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Updated: May 29, 2025

Quantitative Microtubule Fractionation Technique to Separate Stable Microtubules, Labile Microtubules, and Free Tubulin in Mouse Tissues
Published on: November 17, 2023
Structural switching of tubulin in the microtubule lattice
Yean-Ming Chew1, Robert A Cross1
1Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology, University of Warwick, Warwick Medical School, Coventry CV4 7LA, U.K.
Abstract:
Microtubule (MT) dynamic instability, a cycle of growth, catastrophe, shrinkage and rescue, is driven by the switching of tubulin between two structural states, one stabilised by GTP and the other by GDP. Recent work has uncovered the ancient origins of this structural switch and revealed further fundamental elements of microtubule dynamic instability, whereby switching can be brought about by a range of allosteric effectors, propagate deep within the lattice of assembled MTs, and profoundly affect MT function. Here, we review evidence for structural switching within the MT lattice and discuss current ideas about its mechanisms.
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