scholarly journals Cytoskeletal architecture and immunocytochemical localization of microtubule-associated proteins in regions of axons associated with rapid axonal transport: the beta,beta'-iminodipropionitrile-intoxicated axon as a model system.

1985 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 227-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Hirokawa ◽  
G S Bloom ◽  
R B Vallee
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Axonal Transport ◽  
Immunofluorescence Microscopy ◽  
Model System ◽  
Cross Link ◽  
Fixed Tissue ◽  
Microtubule Associated Proteins ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Rapid Transport ◽  
Neurotoxic Agent

Axons from rats treated with the neurotoxic agent beta,beta'-iminodipropionitrile (IDPN) were examined by quick-freeze, deep-etch electron microscopy. Microtubules formed bundles in the central region of the axons, whereas neurofilaments were segregated to the periphery. Most membrane-bounded organelles, presumably including those involved in rapid axonal transport, were associated with the microtubule domain. The high resolution provided by quick-freeze, deep-etch electron microscopy revealed that the microtubules were coated with an extensive network of fine strands that served both to cross-link the microtubules and to interconnect them with the membrane-bounded organelles. The strands were decorated with granular materials and were irregular in dimension. They appeared either singly or as an extensive anastomosing network in fresh axons. The microtubule-associated strands were observed in fresh, saponin-extracted, or aldehyde-fixed tissue. To explore further the identity of the microtubule-associated strands, microtubules purified from brain tissue and containing the high molecular weight microtubule-associated proteins MAP 1 and MAP 2 were examined by quick-freeze, deep-etch electron microscopy. The purified microtubules were connected by a network of strands quite similar in appearance to those observed in the IDPN axons. Control microtubule preparations consisting only of tubulin and lacking the MAPs were devoid of associated strands. To learn which of the MAPs were present in the microtubule bundles in the axon, sections of axons from IDPN-treated rats were examined by immunofluorescence microscopy using antibodies to MAP 1A, MAP 1B, MAP 2, and tubulin. Anti-MAP 2 staining was only marginally detectable in the IDPN-treated axons, consistent with earlier observations. Anti-MAP 1A and anti-MAP 1B brightly stained the IDPN-treated axons, with the staining exclusively limited to the microtubule domains. Furthermore, thin section-immunoelectron microscopy using colloidal gold-labeled second antibodies revealed that both anti-MAP 1A and anti-MAP 1B stained fuzzy filamentous structures between microtubules. In view of earlier work indicating that rapid transport is associated with the microtubule domain in the IDPN-treated axon, it now appears that MAP 1A and MAP 1B may play a role in this process. We believe that MAP 1A and MAP 1B are major components of the microtubule-associated fibrillar matrix in the axon.

scholarly journals Microtubules and microtubule-associated proteins from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans: periodic cross-links connect microtubules in vitro.

1986 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
E J Aamodt ◽  
J G Culotti
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Apparent Molecular Weight ◽  
Cross Link ◽  
Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Microtubule Associated Proteins ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Cross Links ◽  
The Cross

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans should be an excellent model system in which to study the role of microtubules in mitosis, embryogenesis, morphogenesis, and nerve function. It may be studied by the use of biochemical, genetic, molecular biological, and cell biological approaches. We have purified microtubules and microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) from C. elegans by the use of the anti-tumor drug taxol (Vallee, R. B., 1982, J. Cell Biol., 92:435-44). Approximately 0.2 mg of microtubules and 0.03 mg of MAPs were isolated from each gram of C. elegans. The C. elegans microtubules were smaller in diameter than bovine microtubules assembled in vitro in the same buffer. They contained primarily 9-11 protofilaments, while the bovine microtubules contained 13 protofilaments. The principal MAP had an apparent molecular weight of 32,000 and the minor MAPs were 30,000, 45,000, 47,000, 50,000, 57,000, and 100,000-110,000 mol wt as determined by SDS-gel electrophoresis. The microtubules were observed, by electron microscopy of negatively stained preparations, to be connected by stretches of highly periodic cross-links. The cross-links connected the adjacent protofilaments of aligned microtubules, and occurred at a frequency of one cross-link every 7.7 +/- 0.9 nm, or one cross-link per tubulin dimer along the protofilament. The cross-links were removed when the MAPs were extracted from the microtubules with 0.4 M NaCl. The cross-links then re-formed when the microtubules and the MAPs were recombined in a low salt buffer. These results strongly suggest that the cross-links are composed of MAPs.

scholarly journals Temperature-dependent reversible assembly of taxol-treated microtubules.

1987 ◽  
Vol 105 (6) ◽  
pp. 2847-2854 ◽  
Author(s):  
C A Collins ◽  
R B Vallee
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Reverse Phase Hplc ◽  
Reverse Phase ◽  
Microtubule Associated Proteins ◽  
Negative Stain ◽  
Microtubule Protein ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Negative Stain Electron Microscopy

Taxol is a plant alkaloid that binds to and strongly stabilizes microtubules. Taxol-treated microtubules resist depolymerization under a variety of conditions that readily disassemble untreated microtubules. We report here that taxol-treated microtubules can be induced to disassemble by a combination of depolymerizating conditions. Reversible cycles of disassembly and reassembly were carried out using taxol-containing microtubules from calf brain and sea urchin eggs by shifting temperature in the presence of millimolar levels of Ca2+. Microtubules depolymerized completely, yielding dimers and ring-shaped oligomers as revealed by negative stain electron microscopy and Bio-Gel A-15m chromatography, and reassembled into well-formed microtubule polymer structures. Microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), including species previously identified only by taxol-based purification such as MAP 1B and kinesin, were found to copurify with tubulin through reversible assembly cycles. To determine whether taxol remained bound to tubulin subunits, we subjected depolymerized taxol-treated microtubule protein to Sephadex G-25 chromatography, and the fractions were assayed for taxol content by reverse-phase HPLC. Taxol was found to be dissociated from the depolymerized microtubules. Protein treated in this way was found to be competent to reassemble, but now required conditions comparable with those for protein that had never been exposed to taxol. Thus, the binding of taxol to tubulin can be reversed. This has implications for the mechanism of taxol action and for the purification of microtubules from a wide variety of sources for use in self-assembly experiments.

scholarly journals Mechanical properties of brain tubulin and microtubules.

1988 ◽  
Vol 106 (4) ◽  
pp. 1205-1211 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Sato ◽  
W H Schwartz ◽  
S C Selden ◽  
T D Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Viscoelastic Properties ◽  
Microtubule Assembly ◽  
Cross Link ◽  
Microtubule Associated Proteins ◽  
Heat Stable ◽  
Microtubule Protein ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Steady Shearing ◽  
Brain Tubulin

We measured the elasticity and viscosity of brain tubulin solutions under various conditions with a cone and plate rheometer using both oscillatory and steady shearing modes. Microtubules composed of purified tubulin, purified tubulin with taxol and 3x cycled microtubule protein from pig, cow, and chicken behaved as mechanically indistinguishable viscoelastic materials. Microtubules composed of pure tubulin and heat stable microtubule-associated proteins were also similar but did not recover their mechanical properties after shearing like other samples, even after 60 min. All of the other microtubule samples were more rigid after flow orientation, suggesting that the mechanical properties of anisotropic arrays of microtubules may be substantially greater than those of randomly arranged microtubules. These experiments confirm that MAPs do not cross link microtubules. Surprisingly, under conditions where microtubule assembly is strongly inhibited (either 5 degrees or at 37 degrees C with colchicine or Ca++) tubulin was mechanically indistinguishable from microtubules at 10-20 microM concentration. By electron microscopy and ultracentrifugation these samples were devoid of microtubules or other obvious structures. However, these mechanical data are strong evidence that tubulin will spontaneously assemble into alternate structures (aggregates) in nonpolymerizing conditions. Because unpolymerized tubulin is found in significant quantities in the cytoplasm, it may contribute significantly to the viscoelastic properties of cytoplasm, especially at low deformation rates.

scholarly journals Polarity orientation and assembly process of microtubule bundles in nocodazole-treated, MAP2c-transfected COS cells.

1995 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 981-996 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Takemura ◽  
S Okabe ◽  
T Umeyama ◽  
N Hirokawa
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Model System ◽  
Sf9 Cells ◽  
Assembly Process ◽  
Microtubule Associated Proteins ◽  
Cos Cells ◽  
Microtubule Polarity ◽  
Neuronal Processes ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Peripheral Cytoplasm

Microtubule bundles reminiscent of those found in neuronal processes are formed in fibroblasts and Sf9 cells that are transfected with the microtubule-associated proteins tau, MAP2, or MAP2c. To analyze the assembly process of these bundles and its relation to the microtubule polarity, we depolymerized the bundles formed in MAP2c-transfected COS cells using nocodazole, and observed the process of assembly of microtubule bundles after removal of the drug in cells microinjected with rhodamine-labeled tubulin. Within minutes of its removal, numerous short microtubule fragments were observed throughout the cytoplasm. These short fragments were randomly oriented and were already bundled. Somewhat longer, but still short bundles, were then found in the peripheral cytoplasm. These bundles became the primordium of the larger bundles, and gradually grew in length and width. The polarity orientation of microtubules in the reformed bundle as determined by "hook" procedure using electron microscope was uniform with the plus end distal to the cell nucleus. The results suggest that some mechanism(s) exists to orient the polarity of microtubules, which are not in direct continuity with the centrosome, during the formation of large bundles. The observed process presents a useful model system for studying the organization of microtubules that are not directly associated with the centrosomes, such as those observed in axons.

Cross-linking of microtubules by microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) from the brine shrimp, Artemia

1989 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-39
Author(s):  
E.J. Campbell ◽  
S.A. MacKinlay ◽  
T.H. MacRae
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Brine Shrimp ◽  
Cross Linking ◽  
Cross Link ◽  
Independent Manner ◽  
Western Blots ◽  
Microtubule Associated Proteins ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Tubulin Protein

Microtubules induced with taxol to assemble in cell-free extracts of the brine shrimp, Artemia, are cross-linked by microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs). When the MAPs, extracted from taxol-stabilized microtubules with 1 M-NaCl are co-assembled with purified Artemia or mammalian neural tubulin, reconstitution of cross-linking between microtubules occurs. The most prominent non-tubulin protein associated with reconstituted cross-linked microtubules has a molecular weight of 49,000 but we cannot yet exclude the possibility that other proteins may be responsible for the cross-linking. Cross-linkers are separated by varying distances while cross-linked microtubules, prepared under different conditions, are 6.9-7.7 nm apart. Cross-linking of microtubules by MAPs occurs whether MAPs are added to assembling tubulin or to microtubules, and it is not disrupted by ATP. The MAPs are heat-sensitive and do not stabilize microtubules to cold. Immunological characterization of Artemia MAPs on Western blots indicates that Artemia lack MAP 1, MAP 2 and tau. Our results clearly demonstrate that Artemia contain novel MAPs with the ability to cross-link microtubules from phylogenetically disparate organisms in an ATP-independent manner.

scholarly journals Yeast proteins associated with microtubules in vitro and in vivo.

1992 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Barnes ◽  
K A Louie ◽  
D Botstein
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Synthetic Peptides ◽  
Immunofluorescence Microscopy ◽  
The Self ◽  
Microtubule Associated Proteins ◽  
Amino Terminal ◽  
Novel Proteins ◽  
Associated Proteins

Conditions were established for the self-assembly of milligram amounts of purified Saccharomyces cerevisiae tubulin. Microtubules assembled with pure yeast tubulin were not stabilized by taxol; hybrid microtubules containing substoichiometric amounts of bovine tubulin were stabilized. Yeast microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) were identified on affinity matrices made from hybrid and all-bovine microtubules. About 25 yeast MAPs were isolated. The amino-terminal sequences of several of these were determined: three were known metabolic enzymes, two were GTP-binding proteins (including the product of the SAR1 gene), and three were novel proteins not found in sequence databases. Affinity-purified antisera were generated against synthetic peptides corresponding to two of the apparently novel proteins (38 and 50 kDa). Immunofluorescence microscopy showed that both these proteins colocalize with intra- and extranuclear microtubules in vivo.

scholarly journals Template-free 13-protofilament microtubule–MAP assembly visualized at 8 Å resolution

2010 ◽  
Vol 191 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franck J. Fourniol ◽  
Charles V. Sindelar ◽  
Béatrice Amigues ◽  
Daniel K. Clare ◽  
Geraint Thomas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Structural Information ◽  
Binding Mode ◽  
Microtubule Associated Proteins ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Template Free ◽  
Map Function ◽  
Insight Into

Microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) are essential for regulating and organizing cellular microtubules (MTs). However, our mechanistic understanding of MAP function is limited by a lack of detailed structural information. Using cryo-electron microscopy and single particle algorithms, we solved the 8 Å structure of doublecortin (DCX)-stabilized MTs. Because of DCX’s unusual ability to specifically nucleate and stabilize 13-protofilament MTs, our reconstruction provides unprecedented insight into the structure of MTs with an in vivo architecture, and in the absence of a stabilizing drug. DCX specifically recognizes the corner of four tubulin dimers, a binding mode ideally suited to stabilizing both lateral and longitudinal lattice contacts. A striking consequence of this is that DCX does not bind the MT seam. DCX binding on the MT surface indirectly stabilizes conserved tubulin–tubulin lateral contacts in the MT lumen, operating independently of the nucleotide bound to tubulin. DCX’s exquisite binding selectivity uncovers important insights into regulation of cellular MTs.

scholarly journals Role of MAP1B in axonal retrograde transport of mitochondria

2006 ◽  
Vol 397 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva-María Jiménez-Mateos ◽  
Christian González-Billault ◽  
Hana N. Dawson ◽  
Michael P. Vitek ◽  
Jesús Avila
Keyword(s):  
Axonal Transport ◽  
Retrograde Transport ◽  
Precise Control ◽  
Microtubule Associated Proteins ◽  
Anterograde Axonal Transport ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Regulation Of Transport ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Additional Role

The MAPs (microtubule-associated proteins) MAP1B and tau are well known for binding to microtubules and stabilizing these structures. An additional role for MAPs has emerged recently where they appear to participate in the regulation of transport of cargos on the microtubules found in axons. In this role, tau has been associated with the regulation of anterograde axonal transport. We now report that MAP1B is associated with the regulation of retrograde axonal transport of mitochondria. This finding potentially provides precise control of axonal transport by MAPs at several levels: controlling the anterograde or retrograde direction of transport depending on the type of MAP involved, controlling the speed of transport and controlling the stability of the microtubule tracks upon which transport occurs.

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