Interplay Between Motor Proteins and Microtubule Stability: Involvement of Tubulin PTMs and MAPs

Microtubules and motor proteins are components of a cytoskeleton that influence each other to maintain cellular functions. Microtubules act as tracks for motor protein-driven intracellular transport of organelles, vesicles, and macromolecules; therefore, their structural organization and stability are important. Kinesin and dynein motor proteins function not only as cargo transporters but also as contributors to the regulation of microtubule organization, stability, and interactions. The interaction of motor proteins and microtubules is essential for cellular homeostasis, and dysregulations can affect motility-dependent cellular processes such as intracellular trafficking and cell division. In this review, we summarize current knowledge on the relationship between motor proteins and factors associated with microtubule stability, particularly tubulin post-translational modifications and microtubule-associated proteins and discuss how alterations in these processes associate with disease.