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PubMed2000

Proteasomal proteomics: identification of nucleotide-sensitive proteasome-interacting proteins by mass spectrometric analysis of affinity-purified proteasomes.

Ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis is catalyzed by the 26S proteasome, a dynamic complex of 32 different proteins whose mode of assembly and mechanism of action are poorly understood, in part due to the difficulties encountered in purifying the intact complex. Here we describe a one-step affinity method for purifying intact 26S proteasomes, 19S regulatory caps, and 20S core particles from budding yeast cells. Affinity-purified 26S proteasomes hydrolyze both model peptides and the ubiquitinated Cdk inhibitor Sic1. Affinity purifications performed in the absence of ATP or presence of the poorly hydrolyzable analog ATP-gamma-S unexpectedly revealed that a large number of proteins, including subunits of the skp1-cullin-F-box protein ligase (SCF) and anaphase-promoting complex (APC) ubiquitin ligases, copurify with the 19S cap. To identify these proteasome-interacting proteins, we used a recently developed method that enables the direct analysis of the composition of large protein complexes (DALPC) by mass spectrometry. Using DALPC, we identified more than 24 putative proteasome-interacting proteins, including Ylr421c (Daq1), which we demonstrate to be a new subunit of the budding yeast 19S cap, and Ygr232w (Nas6), which is homologous to a subunit of the mammalian 19S cap (PA700 complex). Additional PIPs include the heat shock proteins Hsp70 and Hsp82, the deubiquitinating enzyme Ubp6, and proteins involved in transcriptional control, mitosis, tubulin assembly, RNA metabolism, and signal transduction. Our data demonstrate that nucleotide hydrolysis modulates the association of many proteins with the 26S proteasome, and validate DALPC as a powerful tool for rapidly identifying stoichiometric and substoichiometric components of large protein assemblies.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1995

Three distinct axonal transport rates for tau, tubulin, and other microtubule-associated proteins: evidence for dynamic interactions of tau with microtubules in vivo.

Microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), such as tau, modulate neuronal shape and process outgrowth by influencing the stability and organization of microtubules. The dynamic nature of MAP-microtubule interactions in vivo, however, is poorly understood. Here, we have assessed the stability of these interactions by investigating the synthesis and axoplasmic transport of tau in relation to that of tubulin and other MAPs within retinal ganglion cells of normal adult mice in vivo. Using immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis with anti-tau monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, we unequivocally identified in optic axons a family of 50-60 kDa tau isoforms and a second 90-95 KDa tau family, the members of which were shown to contain the domain of tau encoded by exon 4A. To measure the rates of translocation of tau proteins in vivo, we injected mice with 35S-methionine intravitreously and, after 6-30 d, quantitated the radiolabeled tau isoforms immunoprecipitated from eight consecutive 1.1 mm segments of the nerve and optic tract and separated by electrophoresis. Linear regression analysis of protein transport along optic axons showed that the tau isoforms advanced at a rate of 0.2-0.4 mm/d, and other radiolabeled MAPs, identified by their association with taxol-stabilized microtubules, moved three- to fivefold more rapidly. By contrast, tubulins advanced at 0.1-0.2 mm/d, significantly more slowly than tau or other MAPs. These studies establish that tau is not cotransported with tubulin or microtubules, indicating that associations of tau with microtubules within axons are not as stable as previously believed. Our findings also reveal differences among various MAPs in their interactions with microtubules and provide evidence that assembly and reorganization of the microtubule network is an active process even after axons establish connections and fully mature.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Differential expressions of essential and nonessential alpha-tubulin genes in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe has two alpha-tubulin genes and one beta-tubulin gene. Gene disruption experiments showed that the alpha 1-tubulin gene (NDA2) is essential whereas the alpha 2 gene is dispensable. The alpha 2-disrupted cells missing alpha 2 transcript and alpha 2 polypeptide could grow and sporulate normally. The alpha 2 gene, however, was expressed in the wild type and the alpha 1 mutant. Alpha 2-Tubulin was distinguished as an electrophoretic band and was assembled into microtubules. The alpha 2-disrupted cells had an increased sensitivity to an antimicrotubule drug thiabendazole, and the alpha 1(cold-sensitive [cs]) alpha 2 (disrupted) cells became not only cs but also temperature sensitive. Northern blot experiments indicated that alpha 2 transcription was minor and constitutive whereas alpha 1 transcription was major and modulated, depending on the gene copy number of the alpha 2 gene. The amounts of alpha 1 and alpha 2 polypeptides estimated by beta-galactosidase activities of the lacZ-fused genes integrated on the chromosome and by intensities of the electrophoretic bands in crude tubulin fractions, however, were comparable, indicating that alpha 2 tubulin is not a minor subtype. We assume that the cells of Schizosaccharomyces pombe have no excess tubulin pool. alpha 1 mutants would then be blocked in the cell cycle because only half the amount of functional alpha-tubulin required for growth can be produced by the alpha 2 gene. On the other hand, the alpha 2-disrupted cells became viable because the synthesis of alpha 1 tubulin was increased by transcriptional or translational modulation or both. The real cause for essential alpha 1 and dispensable alpha 2 genes seems to be in their regulatory sequences instead of the coding sequences.

Gene Expression Regulation↗
PubMed1993

Developmental modulation of blood-brain barrier and choroid plexus GLUT1 glucose transporter messenger ribonucleic acid and immunoreactive protein in rabbits.

The transport of glucose across the brain capillary endothelium, which makes up the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in vivo, is developmentally up-regulated in the postnatal period, as the brain switches from combustion of circulating ketone bodies to glucose. The principle transporter mediating the uptake of circulating glucose across the BBB is the GLUT1 isoform. To further define molecular mechanisms underlying developmental modulation of the BBB GLUT1 transporter, the amounts of brain microvessel GLUT1 mRNA and immunoreactive protein were quantitated. In addition, an immunocytochemical analysis of GLUT1 expression at the choroid plexus in developing brain was performed, since this transporter isoform is selectively expressed at the choroid plexus epithelium basolateral membrane. Quantitative Western blotting employing purified human erythrocyte glucose transporter as an assay standard showed that the concentration of immunoreactive GLUT1 protein in 70-day-old rabbit brain microvessels (111 +/- 3 pmol/mg protein) was not significantly different from the concentration of D-glucose-displaceable cytochalasin-B-binding sites (102 +/- 25 pmol/mg protein). Thus, GLUT1 is the principle isoform mediating glucose transport across the developing BBB. Quantitative Western blotting was performed on microvessels isolated from brains of rabbits on postnatal days 1, 14, 28, and 70. The concentrations of immunoreactive microvessel GLUT1 at these four stages of development were 13 +/- 2, 4 +/- 1, 49 +/- 2, and 111 +/- 3 pmol/mg protein, respectively. Capillary depletion analysis showed that essentially all of brain GLUT1 mRNA arises from the microvascular fraction, and Northern analysis of 10 micrograms poly(A)+ RNA from brains of rabbits 1, 14, 28, and 70 days postnatally showed a preferential stabilization of the GLUT1 mRNA compared to mRNA for two cytoskeletal proteins, actin and tubulin. Immunocytochemical analysis of immunoreactive GLUT1 in choroid plexus epithelia showed the following developmental modulation of the transporter protein: 1 day < 14 days < 28 days > 70 days. The concentration of immunoreactive GLUT1 at the basolateral membrane of choroid plexus epithelium at 28 days was much greater than the immunostaining of rabbit brain microvessels at the corresponding age. In conclusion, these studies show that immunoreactive GLUT1 protein initially undergoes down-regulation between birth and 14 days and then undergoes marked up-regulation between 14 and 70 days. Conversely, the concentration of GLUT1 mRNA is virtually unchanged in brain of rabbits at 70 vs. 14 days postnatally. These combined data suggest that a principle mechanism underlying the developmental regulation of GLUT1 at the BBB may be posttranscriptional.

Aging↗
PubMed1976

Temperature-sensitive changes in surface modulating assemblies of fibroblasts transformed by mutants of Rous sarcoma virus.

The hypothesis that surface modulating assemblies containing microfilaments and microtubules and altered after cellular transformation was tested on cells infected with temperature-sensitive mutants of avian sarcoma virus. Untransformed cells (mouse 3T3 and chick fibroblasts), cells transformed by simian virus 40 (SV 3T3), and chick fibroblasts infected with Schmidt-Ruppin strain of Rous sarcoma virus (SR-RSV-A-infected cells) were first compared for differences in microfilament and microtubule patterns after treatment with fluorescein-labeled antibodies to actin and tubulin. Transformed cells showed disappearance of ordered stress microfilaments and thickened or diffuse alterations of microtubular arrays. At restrictive temperatures (41 degrees), chick fibroblasts infected with a temperature-sensitive mutant (ts 68) of Rous sarcoma virus showed normal patterns of stress fialments and radial microtubular arrays originating in 1 or 2 centrioles. At permissive temperatures (37 degrees), these patterns were disordered and resembled those of SR-RSV-A-infected cells. After a shift from 41 degrees to 37 degrees, the changes in microtubules were observed in the majority of cells within 1 hr. These changes were reversible and did not result from the inability of tubulin to polymerize. In ts 68-infected cells at permissive temperatures, concanavalin A induced much less surface modulation (inhibition of receptor mobility) than at restrictive temperatures. These results suggest that cellular transformation alters both the structure and function of surface modulating assemblies and prompt the hypothesis that products of viral transforming genes may affect these assemblies with a consequent loss of growth control.

Actins↗
PubMed2003

Divalent cation hinder the solubilization of a tubulin kinase activity from Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes.

Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes were extracted under various conditions in order to examine the role of divalent cations in the solubilization of microtubule proteins. When epimastigotes were homogenized in the presence of 5 mM Mg+2 and 5 mM Ca+2, a protein kinase responsible for phosphorylating tubulin, as well as the tubulin that became phosphorylated, remained tightly associated with the parasite particulate and detergent-resistant fractions. On the contrary, tubulin kinase and its substrate were predominantly released into the parasite cytosolic and detergent-soluble fractions, when epimastigotes were extracted in the presence of 5 mM EDTA and 5 mM EGTA. These evidences demonstrated a divalent cation-dependent solubilization of the enzyme responsible for the phosphorylation of tubulin in T. cruzi epimastigotes and suggested a tight association between tubulin and this kinase. Under all conditions tested, tubulin kinase activity in epimastigote extracts was lower than the addition of the corresponding value in the parasite cytosolic and membranous fractions, suggesting the presence of a kinase inhibitor or regulatory subunit which also seemed to be modulated by divalent cations. Additionally, inhibition experiments in the presence of heparin, 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate and GTP established that the parasite tubulin kinase corresponded to a protein kinase CK2.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

S100A1 regulates neurite organization, tubulin levels, and proliferation in PC12 cells.

As a first step in determining what cellular processes are regulated by the calcium-modulated protein S100A1 isoform in neurons, the effects of ablated S100A1 expression on neurite organization and microtubule/tubulin levels in PC12 cells were examined. A mammalian expression vector containing the rat S100A1 cDNA in the antisense orientation with respect to a cytomegalovirus promoter was constructed and transfected into PC12 cells. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy confirmed decreased S100A1 protein levels in all three stable transfectants (pAntisense clones) that expressed exogenous S100A1 antisense mRNA. In response to nerve growth factor, pAntisense clones extended significantly more neurites than control cells (4.01 +/- 0.16 versus 2.93 +/- 0.16 neurites/cell). This increase in neurite number was accompanied by an increase in total alpha-tubulin levels in untreated (4.0 +/- 0.6 versus 1.76 +/- 0.4 ng of alpha-tubulin/mg of total protein) and nerve growth factor-treated pAntisense clones (4.15 +/- 0.4 versus 2. 04 +/- 0.5 ng of alpha-tubulin/mg of total protein) when compared with control cells. At high cell densities, pAntisense clones exhibited a significant decrease in anchorage-dependent growth. In soft agar, pAntisense clones formed significantly more colonies (153 +/- 8%) than control cells (116 +/- 5%). However, the pAntisense soft agar colonies were significantly smaller than those observed in control cells (40.6 +/- 3.0 versus 59.5 +/- 1.2 micron). These data suggest that cell density inhibits both anchorage-independent and -dependent growth of pAntisense clones. In summary, ablation of S100A1 expression in PC12 cells results in increased tubulin levels, altered neurite organization, and decreased cell growth. Thus, S100A1 may directly link the cytoskeleton and calcium signal transduction pathways to cell proliferation.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Role of dopamine in anterior pituitary tubulin pools in the lactating rat.

In lactating rats, suckling stimulated the in-vitro tubulin assembly of cold-labile pituitary tubulin fraction by about 70%. Domperidone and alpha methyl-p-tyrosine stimulated the pituitary tubulin assembly by 90% and 325%, respectively. In another experiment, pituitaries from a group of lactating rats (no reference to suckling) were processed to obtain cold-labile and cold-stable tubulin fractions; total tubulin fraction was obtained from another group. Tubulin assembly in the total and cold-stable tubulin fractions was 17-20 fold higher compared to cold-labile fraction. Since the cold-stable and total tubulin fractions were extracted with a Ca(2+)-containing buffer, these results suggest that dopamine-induced changes in cytosolic Ca2+ levels modulate pituitary microtubules.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Dynamic instability of microtubules assembled from microtubule-associated protein-free tubulin: neither variability of growth and shortening rates nor "rescue" requires microtubule-associated proteins.

The growth and shortening of microtubules in dynamic instability is known to be modulated by microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs). A full understanding of the mechanism of dynamic instability requires that one distinguish which of its aspects are mediated by microtubule-associated proteins (even in small residual concentrations) and which are intrinsic properties of the tubulin lattice itself. This paper addresses two of those aspects: whether MAPs cause the rescue events of dynamic instability (i.e., the transitions from shortening to growth) and whether MAPs are responsible for the marked variability of the rates at which microtubules grow and shorten. Very pure tubulin was prepared by sequential chromatographies on phosphocellulose and DEAE-Sephadex. Analysis by electrophoresis and immunoblotting showed it to be essentially MAP-free; it contained fewer than one MAP molecule per 10000 tubulin dimers. When its dynamic instability was studied by video-DIC microscopy, rescues were found to occur at a mean frequency of one per 4 microns of shortening. Variability of rates of growth and shortening, which is observed on the length scale of a few micrometers, was not changed by removal of MAPs. Because the mean distance between bound MAP molecules was calculated to be greater than 14 microns in these experiments, it is concluded that they cannot cause either rescue or variability of rates.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Muscarinic receptor activation promotes the membrane association of tubulin for the regulation of Gq-mediated phospholipase Cbeta(1) signaling.

The microtubule protein tubulin regulates adenylyl cyclase and phospholipase Cbeta(1) (PLCbeta(1)) signaling via transactivation of the G-protein subunits Galphas, Galphai1, and Galphaq. Because most tubulin is not membrane associated, this study investigates whether tubulin translocates to the membrane in response to an agonist so that it might regulate G-protein signaling. This was studied in SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cells, which possess a muscarinic receptor-regulated PLCbeta(1)-signaling pathway. Tubulin, at nanomolar concentrations, transactivated Galphaq by the direct transfer of a GTP analog and potentiated carbachol-activated PLCbeta(1). A specific and time-dependent association of tubulin with plasma membranes was observed when SK-N-SH cells were treated with carbachol. The same phenomenon was observed with membranes from Sf9 cells, expressing a recombinant PLCbeta(1) cascade. The time course of this event was concordant both with transactivation of Galphaq by the direct transfer of [(32)P]P(3)(4-azidoanilido)-P(1)-5'-GTP from tubulin as well as with the activation of PLCbeta(1). In SK-N-SH cells, carbachol induced a rapid and transient translocation of tubulin to the plasma membrane, microtubule reorganization, and a change in cell shape as demonstrated by confocal immunofluorescence microscopy. These observations presented a spatial and temporal resolution of the sequence of events underlying receptor-evoked involvement of tubulin in G-protein-mediated signaling. It is suggested that G-protein-coupled receptors might modulate cytoskeletal dynamics, intracellular traffic, and cellular architecture.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Effects of cortisol treatment on protein synthesis in septum and hippocampus of rat brain.

The effects of cortisol on protein synthesis in distinct brain regions were studied. Hormone administration produced increases in tubulin and actin content in the soluble fraction isolated from septum and hippocampus. Therefore, the poly(A)RNAs were isolated from the same brain regions and their translational capacity was tested in a heterologous cell-free system. Poly(A)RNAs from cortisol-treated animals, as compared to control animals, had a stimulatory effect on 35S-methionine incorporation into tubulin and actin. Thus, our results suggest that cortisol treatment increases the amount of mRNAs coding for tubulin and actin. More importantly, this study indicates that the molecular mechanism of glucocorticoid action in the brain involves modulation of protein synthesis.

Actins↗
PubMed1999

1-(N-alkylamino)-11-(N-ethylamino)-4,8-diazaundecanes: simple synthetic polyamine analogues that differentially alter tubulin polymerization.

Polyamine analogues such as bis(ethyl)norspermine and N1-(cyclopropylmethyl)-N11-ethyl-4,8-diazaundecane (CPENSpm) act as potent modulators of cellular polyamine metabolism in vitro and possess impressive antitumor activity against a number of cell lines. Some of these polyamine analogues appear to produce their cell-type-specific cytotoxic activity through the superinduction of spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT). However, there are several analogues (e.g., N1-(cycloheptylmethyl)-N11-ethyl-4, 8-diazaundecane (CHENSpm)) which are effective cytotoxic agents but do not superinduce SSAT. We have previously demonstrated that CPENSpm and CHENSpm both initiate the cell death program, although by different mechanisms, and that CHENSpm (but not CPENSpm) induces a G2/M cell cycle arrest. We now report that one potential mechanism by which some polyamine analogues can retard growth and ultimately produce cytotoxicity is through interference with normal tubulin polymerization. In these studies, we compare the effects of the polyamine analogues CHENSpm, CPENSpm, and (S)-N1-(2-methyl-1-butyl)-N11-ethyl-4,8-diazaundecane (IPENSpm) on in vitro tubulin polymerization. These spermine analogues behave very differently from spermine and from each other in terms of tubulin polymerization rate, equilibrium levels, and time of polymerization initiation. These results demonstrate that structurally similar polyamine analogues with potent antitumor effects can produce significantly different cellular effects. The discovery of polyamine analogues that can alter tubulin polymerization provides a series of promising lead compounds that may have a similar spectrum of activity to more difficult to synthesize compounds typified by paclitaxel.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1985

Bundling of microtubules by glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and its modulation by ATP.

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from different origins (brain, muscle, erythrocytes) binds to microtubules polymerized from pure brain tubulin and causes bundle formation in vitro. ATP is shown to dissociate these bundles into individual microtubules, while the dehydrogenase is not displaced from the polymers by this nucleotide. ATP can be replaced by adenosine 5'-(beta, gamma-imido]triphosphate, a nonhydrolyzable analog of ATP. These data are interpreted in terms of dissociation of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase tetramer into dimers by ATP. The enzyme is also efficiently purified by a tubulin-Sepharose affinity chromatography.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1995

Effects of modulators of protein kinases on taxol-induced apoptosis of human leukemic cells possessing disparate levels of p26BCL-2 protein.

Taxol-induced polymerization of tubulin into stable microtubules and cell cycle metaphase arrest have been demonstrated to result in internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and morphological features of apoptosis in human leukemia cells. Recent studies have also shown that Taxol-induced apoptosis, but not Taxol-induced microtubular bundling or mitotic arrest, is significantly inhibited in cells that overexpress the bcl-2 gene product p26BCL-2. In the present studies we examined the effects of several modulators of activities of protein kinases on Taxol-induced DNA fragmentation and apoptosis in human pre-B leukemia 697 cells transfected with the cDNA of the bcl-2 gene and expressing high intracellular levels of p26BCL-2 (697/BCL-2 cells). Treatment with 0.1-1.0 microM MTaxol for 24 h produced prolonged mitotic arrest of control 697/neo cells, which had been transfected with the neomycin resistance gene. This resulted in apoptosis-associated large DNA fragments ranging between 5 and 200 kb and internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. Cotreatment with the phorbol ester phorbol dibutyrate (PdBU) significantly reduced Taxol-induced internucleosomal and large DNA fragmentation and inhibited apoptosis of 697/neo cells. In contrast, a combined exposure to Taxol and staurosporine (ST; 5 or 50 ng/ml), a potent inhibitor of protein kinase C and other kinases, significantly increased DNA fragmentation and apoptosis of 697/neo cells. Additionally, in 697/BCL-2 cells, ST partially overcame the suppressive effects of high p26BCL-2 levels on Taxol-induced apoptosis. Cotreatment with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor Genistein (30 microM) markedly inhibited Taxol-induced DNA fragmentation and apoptosis of 697/neo cells. However, it is noteworthy that the modulations of Taxol-induced DNA fragmentation and apoptosis by PdBU, ST, and Genistein occurred without significant effects on Taxol-mediated mitotic arrest of 697/neo cells. These agents also did not affect intracellular p26BCL-2 levels in 697/neo or 697/BCL-2 cells. These findings indicate that Taxol-induced apoptosis can be modulated by agents that affect the activities of protein kinases, and these effects are not mediated by modulations of Taxol-induced mitotic arrest or by alterations of intracellular p26BCL-2 levels.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic↗
PubMed1995

The phosphatidylinositol-binding site of microtubule-associated protein MAP2.

Recent evidence [Surridge and Burns, Biochemistry (1994) 33, 8051-8057] on the interaction of native and recombinant tau, recombinant MAP2c, and native MAP2 with vesicles prepared from phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) and other phospholipids demonstrate that MAP2 differs from MAP2c and from tau in having a high-affinity PtdIns-binding site. The location of this site within the MAP2-specific insert peptide, coupled with considerations of the nature of the MAP2 tubulin-binding site, suggests that PtdIns-binding induces a conformational change which alters the MAP2 tubulin-binding domain. Furthermore, the restricted cellular distribution of MAP2 implies that the MAP2:PtdIns interaction may play a central role in modulating the dendritic cytoskeleton.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Interaction of hepatitis C virus F protein with prefoldin 2 perturbs tubulin cytoskeleton organization.

By use of the yeast two-hybrid system, hepatitis C virus (HCV) F protein was found to interact with a cellular protein named prefoldin 2. The interaction was confirmed by confocal immunofluorescence microscopy as well as coimmunoprecipitation experiments. Prefoldin 2 is a subunit of a hexameric molecular chaperone complex, named prefoldin, which delivers nascent actin and tubulin proteins to the eukaryotic cytosolic chaperonin for facilitated folding. Functional prefoldin spontaneously assembles from its six subunits (prefoldin 1-6). In the yeast three-hybrid system, it was found that expression of HCV F protein impeded the interaction between prefoldin 1 and 2. By performing immunofluorescence experiment and non-denaturing gel electrophoresis, it was shown that expression of HCV F protein resulted in aberrant organization of tubulin cytoskeleton. Since HCV replication requires intact microtubule and actin polymerization, HCV F protein may serve as a modulator to prevent high level of HCV replication and thus contributes to viral persistence in chronic HCV infection.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Comparative effects of cryosolvents on tubulin association, thermal stability, and binding of microtubule-associated proteins.

Organic cryosolvents essential for cryopreservation of living cells have a colligative effect on water properties, but also affect cellular structures such as the membrane, actin, or tubulin cytoskeleton. The effects of cryosolvents on actin and its binding proteins are starting to be well investigated. In parallel, tubulin assembly characteristics were investigated comparatively, with 0-30% 1,2-propanediol, dimethyl sulfoxide, or glycerol, and with or without microtubule-associated proteins, at 37 or 4 degrees C. Tubulin association was monitored by spectrometry and sedimentation, providing the concentration in free protein, cold-depolymerizable microtubules, and cold-resistant associations. At 37 degrees C, 1,2-propanediol and dimethyl sulfoxide induce a similar association level and cold stability of the assemblies. Glycerol yields a lower level of tubulin association. Cold stability of the assemblies requires the presence of solvent, the amount of which is modulated by microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs): 15% 1,2-propanediol or dimethyl sulfoxide, decreasing down to 10% with MAPs, or 10% glycerol with MAPs only. At 4 degrees C, some cold-stable association is promoted by 1,2-propanediol or dimethyl sulfoxide above 10-15%, in the presence or absence of MAPs, but not with glycerol. In addition, protein content of the various fractions obtained with MAPs and 30% solvent was examined by densitometry of electrophoresis gels. Cold-labile associations obtained at 37 degrees C with 1,2-propanediol or dimethyl sulfoxide are lacking in tubulin and enriched in tau proteins relative to control or glycerol. Associations formed at 37 degrees C and stable to subsequent cold treatment, or at 4 degrees C, regardless of the solvent, present a large tubulin content, as well as few tau proteins and high-molecular-weight MAPs.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Mechanisms of tubulin modification by phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxides.

The interaction of lipid peroxides with cellular proteins has been postulated to contribute to cellular aging. A potential target for such effects is tubulin, the building block of microtubules. We examined the concentration-dependent effects of phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxides on the ability of tubulin to polymerize into microtubules. The results demonstrated that even very low concentrations of peroxides were sufficient to interfere with the tubulin and, therefore, the microtubule function. Decreased tubulin activity (as measured by tubulin GTPase activity) showed correlation with the modification of methionine and cysteine in tubulin and a change in the tubulin conformational state as indicated by fluorescence and ultraviolet spectroscopic measurements. As no effect on electric conductivity was observed, indicating that modulation of ionic binding was not involved, the interaction mechanism may be a hydrophobic one.

Amino Acids↗