Focusing-in on microtubules

Curr Opin Struct Biol. 2000 Apr;10(2):236-41. doi: 10.1016/s0959-440x(00)00070-1.

Abstract

A good approximation of the atomic structure of a microtubule has been derived from docking the high-resolution structure of tubulin, solved by electron crystallography, into lower resolution maps of whole microtubules. Some structural interactions with other molecules, including nucleotides, drugs, motor proteins and microtubule-associated proteins, can now be predicted.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Cytoskeleton / ultrastructure
  • Dyneins / chemistry
  • GTP Phosphohydrolases / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Kinesins / chemistry
  • Microtubules / chemistry*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Motor Proteins / chemistry
  • Protein Conformation
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Tubulin / chemistry*
  • Tubulin / metabolism
  • tau Proteins / chemistry
  • tau Proteins / metabolism

Substances

  • Molecular Motor Proteins
  • Tubulin
  • tau Proteins
  • GTP Phosphohydrolases
  • Dyneins
  • Kinesins