Microtubule Binding
Microtubule Binding - Related Videos
04:28
Microtubule Binding Assay in CRC Cells: A Method to Examine Microtubule Binding Tau Protein in Colorectal Cancer Cells
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2023
This video describes the microtubule-binding assay used to separate the microtubule-binding tau protein from non-binding hyperphosphorylated tau protein fractions in colorectal cancer cells. This assay helps determine the effect of various chemicals that can alter the phosphorylation status of tau protein, affecting its microtubule binding.
12:55
Assay for Phosphorylation and Microtubule Binding Along with Localization of Tau Protein in Colorectal Cancer Cells
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Cited by 11 •
2017
This manuscript describes standard protocols for measuring tau hyperphosphorylation, measuring tau binding to microtubules, and localization of intracellular tau following drug treatments. These protocols can be used repetitively for screening drugs or other compounds that target tau hyperphosphorylation or microtubule binding.
12:20
Preparation of Segmented Microtubules to Study Motions Driven by the Disassembling Microtubule Ends
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Cited by 24 •
2014
Microtubules are inherently unstable polymers, and their switching between growth and shortening is stochastic and difficult to control. Here we describe protocols using segmented microtubules with photoablatable stabilizing caps. Depolymerization of segmented microtubules can be triggered with high temporal and spatial resolution, thereby assisting analysis of motions with the disassembling microtubule ends.
06:36
Interference Reflection Microscopy for Label-Free Visualization of Microtubule Dynamics
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2025
In this video, we describe the interference reflection microscopy (IRM) technique to visualize microtubules growing on a coverslip surface in the presence of a suitable buffer. Upon illumination with incident light, the coverslip-buffer interface and buffer-microtubule interface reflect light, which combines to create an interference pattern, enabling the visualization of microtubules as high-contrast images against a bright background.
07:27
TIRF Microscopy to Visualize Actin and Microtubule Coupling Dynamics
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2025
This video describes TIRF, a total internal reflection microscopy-based technique to visualize actin and microtubule polymerization dynamics. The method allows the high-resolution imaging of actin and microtubule coupling dynamics in real-time, which is essential for understanding cellular crosstalks.
FAQs
Molecules can recognize either the microtubule surface or its ends, and that location affects their role. Surface binding supports activities such as stabilization and cross-linking, while end-associated interactions can influence microtubule growth or shortening. These distinct binding positions help coordinate the organization and remodeling of the cytoskeleton within cells.
Microtubule-associated proteins primarily regulate filament behavior by stabilizing microtubules or linking them to one another. Motor proteins, including kinesin and dynein, use ATP hydrolysis to move cargo along microtubules. This distinction separates structural and regulatory functions from active transport, although both depend on interactions with the same cytoskeletal polymers.
Binding interactions can alter how microtubules grow or shorten by stabilizing the polymers or associating with their ends. Controlling these opposing behaviors allows cells to reorganize their internal scaffolding when needed. The resulting regulation contributes to cell shape, chromosome segregation, and the broader organization of the cell interior.
Transport depends on motor proteins attaching to microtubules and using ATP hydrolysis to move cargo along them. The microtubule network therefore provides both a structural route and a track for cargo movement within the cell. Studying these interactions helps connect molecular binding events with the distribution of materials through the intracellular space.
Investigating these interactions can clarify how cells organize their interiors, maintain shape, segregate chromosomes, and transport cargo. It also reveals how microtubule growth and shortening are controlled by associated molecules. Because these functions depend on coordinated cytoskeletal behavior, binding studies provide a molecular context for several essential biological processes.
Microtubule binding is relevant to research on motor proteins, mitosis, neurobiology, and drugs that alter microtubule dynamics. In mitosis, binding relationships help frame chromosome segregation; in neurobiology, they relate to organized intracellular transport. Drug studies use the same conceptual framework to examine how changing microtubule dynamics affects cellular function.