Everything you wanted to know about microtubules but were afraid to ask

NIH Director's Seminar Series Dr. Roll-Mecak will discuss the research of the Laboratory of Cell Biology and Biophysics Section, NINDS. The title of her talk is " Everything you wanted to know about microtubules but were afraid to ask " . In addition to providing structural support, microtubules form a complex and dynamic intracellular " highway " that delivers molecular cargo from one end of the cell to another - which in the case of neuronal cells can span several feet. Given the continually changing cell physiology, this delivery system undergoes constant remodeling as cargo is transported to different destinations with high temporal and spatial accuracy. Failures in this highly coordinated transport system lead to disease and mutations in genes that encode microtubule dynamics regulators have been implicated in neurodegeneration, cardiovascular disease, cancers and viral infections. Not surprisingly, tubulin, the building block of the microtubule network is one of the most post-translationally modified proteins in the cell. Dr. Roll Mecak's laboratory combines biophysical and cell biological approaches to understand the interplay between microtubules and their regulators and how the chemical complexity of microtubules tunes the behavior of motors and microtubule associated proteins. Despite the abundance and complexity of tubulin modifications, their effects on microtubule behavior are still poorly understood. Is the microtubule more than just a structural strut, or a nai...
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